Chronicles
by Kots
Summary: What happens when an average nobody is sucked into the digital world? What makes him so special?
1. It Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon (gasp, tears well up in eyes), although I wish I did. /o\  
  
I sit here at my computer thinking to myself, "Should I be doing this? Will anyone read or even care about what I write? Most importantly though, will it change anything that the humans think about us?" While I ponder over these thoughts, I hear a loud crash in the kitchen of the apartment where I live with... well, my wife and brother. I can't help but smile as I hear muffled cursing and the sweeping of a broken dish into a dustpan. Then I start to think of how strange most people would take my relationship with the two people who matter most in my life... but back to the business at hand. I did not want to write this at first, "the past is the past" I told myself. But those two I love the most would not let me be until I finally caved in. So, here goes, for better or for worse, here is my story.  
  
Chapter 1: It Begins...  
  
WHAM!, that was the sound of my door as I slammed it shut. I stood there, leaning against my door with my eyes closed, I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out again, "aaahhhhh..." it was good to be back. Not that I had been gone long , just attending my day classes at the college. In fact, the apartment I was currently renting was just five blocks away from the campus itself. It was just that this was where I felt most secure and distant from all the problems and troubles of the outside world.  
  
It wasn't that I hated my life mind you, just that I felt as if something was missing. I was nineteen, had good grades in all my classes, and I had a steady part time job as a data entry personnel. Yet, for my whole life it was as if though I was missing something, like I was not entirely complete. In fact, I used to mentally wander all the time. In school I would be told to pay better attention, and at home I was constantly reminded that I spent far too much time by myself and not with my family. I walked into my bedroom and dropped my bag onto the floor. Then I threw myself onto my bed and laid there thinking, "Is this really my life?" Just then I heard the phone ring and reached for the one on my nightstand.  
  
"Hello?" I said. "Hey Ben, this is Joe Nasser from work, I was just calling to let you know that we are going to be remodeling the entire 2nd floor starting Monday." "Really?," I said, "then what am I going to be doing while this remodeling is going on?" "Don't worry about it Ben," said Joe, "all of the employees on the 2nd floor are getting the week off with pay. So I expect to see you the week after next, eager to get back to work, well...., so long." Then he hung up on me before I could say a word. "That's just great," I thought as I hung up the phone, "this paid vacation just happens to be during the same week as my spring break." "Now what am I gonna do for a whole week?" I did not have a girlfriend nor was I interested in one since all the women that I had ever asked out had only been interested in three things, wealth, reputation, or looks. Since I had none of these, I had given up on the social scene, and stuck to being single.  
  
I got off of my bed and went into the living room. The computer was flashing that I had mail, but I ignored it since I never got anything but spam or junk mail. I opened up my video cabinet and looked for a movie to watch. For some odd reason the digimon tapes that I had watched all the time when I was younger seemed to stand out. "What the hell," I thought, "it's not like I have anything better to do." So I picked one at random and popped it into the VCR. I then sat down and watched the hour long tape. It was a good one but also very sad, because it contained the episode where Jeri lost her partner Leomon. After the tape was over I put it away and had the strangest feeling that I was forgetting something. "Probably nothing." I thought, and went into the kitchen to make my dinner which, when I was done, consisted of hot dogs and mac & cheese.  
  
After I had washed the dishes I decided that I would make some popcorn and watch the rest of my digimon tapes. "What else am I gonna do this week?" I thought to myself. As I was turning the popcorn popper on I noticed my computer again. "Might as well." I thought. I walked over to my computer, sat down, and opened up my e-mail account. It was just as I had figured, so I clicked away at the messages, marking them to be deleted, and didn't find anything worthwhile, although the last was a strange one that read "Ben, open this immediately!!!" I figured it was just one of those stupid "You could be a winner!" things that I got, so I marked it too and clicked delete. I started to turn away when I saw that one of the mails had not been deleted. "Must've missed one." I thought. Then I saw it was the same weird e-mail as before, except that the words were flashing on and off. I marked it again and pressed delete. Yet it would not delete, "What?" I thought, so I tried again with the same result. "What kind of e-mail is this?" So, I double clicked on it and was immediately blinded by a burst of bright light from my computer screen. "Holy Shit!, what was that!?!" I yelled while rubbing my eyes. Something grabbed me then, and I felt myself falling, "WHOAH!" I yelled, thinking I was gonna hit the floor, but I seemed to just keep on falling, and screaming. I could not even open my eyes because of the intensity of the light. I just kept falling faster and faster until...., I'm afraid that I passed out.  
  
I awoke to a voice calling my name, "Bennn!, come on Ben wake up!" yelled the voice. I thought that I was still dreaming and reached for my pillow to put over my ears to block out the voice. Instead of a pillow I touched something hard, smooth, and cold. I quickly sat up to look at what I had touched, and found myself in pain since I had just smashed my head into the ceiling of the small cave. "Stupid cave." I said, gripping my head in pain. Then I froze in shock, since the last time I checked, my apartment didn't have a cave in it. "What the hell is going on!!!" I yelled, "Where am I?!!!!!" "Well it's about time you woke, but if you're gonna be this loud maybe you should go back to sleep." yelled the voice from earlier. I looked around but didn't see anything except the cave walls and a exit leading to the outside. "Who are you?," I asked nervously, "and where am I?" "Come on outside," called the voice, "I have breakfast ready." "Not until I get some answers!" I yelled at it angrily. "Very well," it said, "I suppose you can just stay in there and starve instead of eating something."  
  
I suddenly realized that I was starving, my growling stomach was a dead giveaway. "Alright," I said, "I'm coming out, but don't try any funny stuff." "Fine then." called the voice. Slowly I crawled, I couldn't walk because of how low the cave ceiling was, toward the entrance to the cave and out into the warm sunlight. I stood up squinting until I was used to the bright light. All around me were trees, endless, gigantic trees that seemed to go up and up without stopping. Behind the cave, which was a hole in a hillside, there was a large river gently flowing. Oh, and did I forget to mention that several feet away from the entrance there was a fire, and sitting by that fire was the largest porcupine that I had ever seen?! At first I thought it was a porcupine, it had its back toward me and was covered in quills. Then it spoke, "Morning Ben, care for some eggs?"  
  
I am not ashamed to admit that I set a new record for how high I could jump. I was really freaked out, and stood there in dumb amazement. "Did.....did..did you just....talk?" I stammered. "Yea I did, how 'bout you?, did you just talk?" the giant porcupine replied sarcastically. Of course I, being my brilliant self, responded in quite a thoughtful and intelligent way, (that's sarcasm if you didn't get it), "Of course I can talk, I'm a person." "Oh really?" said the giant porcupine, while setting down beside itself a frying pan with scrambled eggs, "then what am I?, used toilet paper?" "Of course not," I said, "it's just that I....oh, I get it." Then I started laughing out loud. "What's so funny?" said the porcupine, its back still toward me. "It's just that I understand what's going on now." I said, quieting down but still chuckling. "Really?, and what do you understand?" it replied. "Well...obviously this is a dream, since I'm arguing with a porcupine, and eventually I'll wake up." I said. The giant porcupine seemed to stiffen, and then said "This is no dream Ben, it can't be, not after I've waited so long." "Waited for what?" I asked. "Why...for you of course." it replied. "You've been waiting for me?" I asked dumbfounded. "Longer than you may think," it said, and then after a pause, softly added "my brother." Then it stood up on its hind legs and turned to face me.  
  
So there he stood, about 5'6, with a darkish yellow fur covering his body, except his chest and stomach area, which was white, plus a tail that was almost as long as him, although it did flatten out kind of like a beaver's. He had short, point, cat-like ears, and starting at a point between those ears and running down his entire backside and covering his tail were what looked like long, sharp, dark quills. I fell down trying to back away from this creature. "Wh...what are you?" I managed to whisper. The creature then smiled at me and laughed. "Come on Ben, surely you've heard of a digimon, haven't you?" "A..a digimon?, but you're not real, you can't be, there is no such thing!" I cried out, mostly from fright of this large and dangerous looking creature. "Ben, you don't remember do you?" "Remember what?" I said. The creature, err..., digimon then started coming toward me. I tried getting out of there as fast as I could but tripped over my own feet again. "Ben don't be afraid, I just want to show you something." the digimon said. By this time he was standing over me while I just laid there to scared to move. "Sh...show me what?" I stuttered. "This." he said opening his paw?, hand?, it was a mixture of both, and in it was a picture of a little boy being carried in the digimons' arms. "This is a picture of me and you Ben." said the digimon.  
  
"How?" I asked him, still staring at the picture. "About 14 years ago I was traveling around and found a little human boy soaking wet. He was sitting on a rock next to a pond and crying. I didn't know what to do, for I had never even seen a human before. So, I went over to him and asked what was wrong." said the digimon. "Then the little boy stopped crying, looked up at me, and said "Who are you?". I told the little boy that my name was Pinmon, and asked who he was. "I'm Ben." said the little boy. I then asked why he was crying, and he told me he was lost and didn't know where he was. I asked what the last thing he remembered was and he pointed to the pond. I figured that a portal must have opened and he had fallen from his world and right into the pond." I looked up at the digimon, "Your name is Pinmon?" "That's right, do you remember any of what I'm telling you?" replied Pinmon. I thought I did, but it was like trying to remember a certain dream, knowing what it was about, but not quite able to describe it. I shook my head and said "It's kind of fuzzy, but I think I remember a pond."  
  
I sat there looking at this digimon who called himself Pinmon. Hundreds of thoughts were running through my head. "How is this possible?, Digimon aren't real!, Is this all a dream?, Why me?, Was I really here as a kid?, Am I going crazy?!" I didn't know what was going on, but I figured that I might as well go along with it or I really would go nuts. "Pinmon?" I said. "Yea?" said Pinmon. I then asked something that had been confusing earlier, "You said that you had been waiting for me, why?" Pinmon sighed and sat down facing me. "If I had known when I first met you, then perhaps I wouldn't have had to wait so long." he said. "Known what?" I asked. "Why, that we were to be brothers in arms, a pair of the select few chosen to be DigiKnights." he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "A Di...DigiKnight?" I asked confusedly. "Sorry," said Pinmon, "I forget that you don't know, lets see, how should I put this. Okay, a DigiKnight is one who protects others; the DigiKnights can be digimon or human. Sometimes though, there is a special case in which a digimon and human join together. That is what we are Ben."  
  
"Join together?, what is that supposed to mean?" I asked, for I suddenly had a disturbing image in my head. Pinmon seemed to think for a minute and then said "I guess you could say that we have a bond. You may have already felt it in your world as a longing of some sort. Over time this bond will deepen, allowing us to become even better partners." "Ooookayyy," I said, not knowing what to think, "so what do we do now?" Pinmon smiled and said, "Well, as long as you don't keep tripping over your own feet, I think that it's time we went and saw the head knight of this region." He then stood and offered me a helping hand?, paw?, I still don't know, so I'll just say hand. I grasped his hand, and with a good grip he yanked me up off the ground onto my own feet. I looked down at him in surprise, for I found myself being about 3 to 4 inches taller, and said "What's a head knight?" "You'll see." said Pinmon as he turned and went back toward his campfire. There he started putting things away into a large, well, it looked like a duffel bag. I followed after him and asked "Anything I can do?" He looked up at me, handed me a pot that was on the ground and said "Sure, go fill this with water from the river so we can douse the fire." I smiled and walked off toward the river I had seen when I first came out of the cave.  
  
I arrived at the riverbank and had to admit that the view was pretty good. I bent down and dipped the pot into the water. While it filled, I noticed how clean, and clear the river was. It was as if I were looking through a window to an underwater world. The sunlight showed everything on the riverbed, rocks, plants, fish, my shadow, another shadow, what the...? I glanced beside me and saw a strange looking cat. From watching the TV show, I thought at first that it was a Gatomon, but why was it all black? It just sat there watching me, while I looked at it. I then said the first thing that popped into my head, "Thirsty?" The Gatomon blinked in surprise and replied "What did you say?" "I asked if you were thirsty." I said. "Why do you want to know?" said the Gatomon. "Well, if you were I was going to offer you a drink." I said, lifting up the overflowing pot. The Gatomon hissed and said "I don't take anything from humans." With that said it ran up a tree that grew beside the river. Then it scurried across an overhanging branch, only to lose its footing and fall with a loud splash. I stood and tried to see if it was alright. It came to the surface and started swimming to the opposite shore with an abundance of cursing. "What was that all about?" I thought to myself. Then I picked up the pot and made my way back to Pinmon. 


	2. Journey to the outpost

Disclaimer: Once again I say that I don't own digimon! (Looks up at the stormy sky) There! You happy now you great beings that do own digimon! (Many curses fall from lips) Come on now Mr. Knight, it's time for bed. (Orderlie punctures my are with a syringe) Oookayyy thennn, nighty night (I become unconscious and am carried back to my room)  
  
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"What took you so long?" asked Pinmon as soon as I returned. "Sorry, I was talking to somebody." I said as I poured the pot of water over the small flames and embers of the fire. Pinmon then took the pot and stashed it into his bag. "Who?" he asked as he hoisted his bag to his shoulders. "It was a Gatomon." I said. "What did it want?" he asked. "It didn't want anything," I replied, "it was weird though, I don't think that I've ever seen a Gatomon that was all black before." Pinmon took in a quick, sharp breath, and said "We should leave now." He then turned and started off into the forest, with me right behind him.  
  
After walking through the overgrown forest for about a half-hour, we walked into a clearing that was covered in wildflowers. Pinmon stopped and stood there, just looking at the entire meadow. It was beautiful, flowers of spectacular colors grew everywhere, and the air was full of butterflies and other insects. I then spoke up, "Pinmon?" "Hmmm...what is it Ben?" "I was just wondering, um..., why did we take off so hurriedly?, was it because of that Gatomon?" Pinmon sighed and turned to look at me, "First of all, it wasn't a Gatomon, but a BlackGatomon that you met Ben. Secondly, I just don't trust strange viral digimon, for all I know that BlackGatomon could have gone off to get reinforcements." "Reinforcements?, you sound as if there is a war going on Pinmon." "Don't worry Ben, nothing like that is happening, at least not yet, its just one of the jobs of a DigiKnight to be suspicious."  
  
"Oh..." I said, "okay then, so should we get going or what?" Pinmon smiled and said "I guess we should, I want to try and get to the outpost before nightfall." "Outpost?, what outpost?" I said getting confused again. "The outpost for this sector of course, that is where we have to go to meet the head knight for this sector." said Pinmon. He then started across the meadow. I stayed right with him, "Pinmon what's a head knight?, I asked you earlier but you didn't answer me." "Lets see... a head knight is the knight that all the other knights of a particular sector report too, kind of like a supervisor of all us knights." "Okay..." I said, "and we're going to see this head knight why?" Pinmon chuckled, looked at me and said "Why for your initiation of course, that is, if you pass the tests." "Tests, what kind of tests?" Pinmon smiled and said "I couldn't tell you that even if I wanted to, every initiate's test is different."  
  
"Oh great..." I said sarcastically, "and just my luck that it will involve fire, sharp objects, and a lot of pain." "Don't worry Ben, nobody's been seriously hurt in a test...yet." "That's not funny Pinmon." I said. Pinmon only responded by laughing to himself. I decided to stop asking questions for the moment since every answer seemed to be one that I didn't want to know. As we walked through the huge forest, the size of the trees was incredible, just one would put a skyscraper to shame, anyways... I found myself becoming quickly tired. I mean I'm not in the greatest shape, kind of overweight, and maybe I should have exercised more. The next thing I knew was that I felt something grab my leg and I was tasting dirt. I groaned and heard Pinmon, "Ben, you alright?" I raised myself up onto my knees and wiped the dirt off my face. "Yea, I'll be okay, I just need to rest is all. I'm not used to doing all this traveling by foot in one day." "You get used to it," said Pinmon, sitting down on a moss covered rock, "anyways a rest does sound good, we have been walking quite a while, and were almost to our destination anyways."  
  
I looked at the sky through the breaks in the canopy, and found to my surprise that the sun was about to set! I knew we had traveled for a while, but it was morning when we left the campsite. "Wow, we have been walking for a while." Pinmon glanced up at the sky and said, "It is very easy to lose track of the time while you are in this forest." He then sighed, stood back up and said, "Come on Ben, it is later than I thought, and we can reach the outpost in about 15 minutes." He then took off into the forest. I jumped up and started to follow him, but I quickly lost him in the darkness and underbrush. "Pinmon?" I called out, "Hey Pinmon, wait for me!" I started walking faster through the thick, overgrown, forest floor. It was then that I heard the blood curdling screams.  
  
I stopped and listened for the sound again. By now the sun had set, and it was almost pitch black in this forest, except for the occasional moonbeam streaking down through the canopy. I realized I was completely lost, in a digital world, with who knows what watching me from the darkness, waiting for the chance to strike. I told myself to calm down, and then the screams started again. "Oh, fuck this!" I told myself, and took off running away from the screams. The screams followed me, getting closer and closer, the closest I could come to describing the sound would be a group of baboons.  
  
I started to running faster, to get away from that sound, that horrible shrieking noise! I plowed through the bushes, shrubs, vines, and small trees not caring if I got hurt or not. I didn't even notice that I had deep scratches on my arms, face, and hands, causing blood to run all over the place. The entire time I ran, that hideous noise seemed to be getting louder, and louder, until I thought I was going to go mad with fear. Then, as I ran into a small moonlit clearing, the noise just stopped. I fell to the ground, breathing deeply, trying to catch my breath. I lay there for what seemed to be hours, although it was actually more like 6 minutes. I shakily stood up and looked around me. The clearing was small, but the moon was right over head, showing everything as clear as day. Then the screams started again, I whirled around, for the sounds were coming from behind me. I waited as they got louder, and louder, then the origins of the screams burst from the tree line like a hideous shrieking whirlwind. Then they landed, and I laughed.  
  
I laughed because I couldn't believe that these were what I had been running from. They were three Motimon. The three Motimon stared at me and started to run away, or hop away, I don't really know if you'd call what they have feet. "Wait a minute!" I shouted. The three Motimon stopped and stared at me. The largest of the group moved forward and said in a very squeaky voice, "P...please don't hurt us!" I was confused, "Hurt you, why would I hurt you?" I asked it. The little Motimon looked to the ground, and I swear that it blushed, at least I think it did, it was too dark to be sure. "We thought that you were someone else." the Motimon said, "I apologize for having my brothers and I chase you through the forest." The Motimon then took a deep breath, as if sniffing the air, it then gasped and looked up at me. "You're hurt!" it said in surprise. "What are you talking about?" I said, "I feel fine..." It was then that I finally saw my arms, they were literally dripping with blood. "Holy Shit!" I yelled, as the pain and the dizziness kicked in. "Whoa, I...I think I need to lie down now." I then fell forward, face first into the hard ground. The darkness soon claimed me, taking me away from the pain.  
  
"Ben...Ben are you awake?" said a familiar voice. I mumbled and turned over to get away from the annoying voice that had disturbed me. I then found myself wide awake as I fell and hit the hard floor. "Ow, that kinda hurt." I said as I sat up and looked around. "Where am I?" I was on the floor in what looked like some kind of bedroom. The whole room was wood though, wooden bed, wooden walls, wooden everything. There was also Pinmon on the other side of the bed, looking down at me with a smug grin on his face. "You're at the outpost Ben." "What are you smiling at?" I said, getting to my feet. "Nothing, just the fact that you nearly knocked yourself unconscious again." "Again?" I asked confusedly. "Ben, you've been unconscious for the last 24 hours." I looked at Pinmon to see if he was joking. His face was nothing but seriousness. "24 hours?" I said, "I didn't know I was that tired from traveling through the forest." "It wasn't the travel Ben, it was the blood loss that caused you to be that way."  
  
"Blood loss?" I suddenly remembered my arms covered in blood. I looked at my arms to find them covered in bandages. I also found myself in a brown robe, with nothing on underneath it. "Pinmon?" "Yes Ben?" "I have two questions." "Okay Ben, ask away." "First of all, what happened to my arms?" Pinmon sat on the bed and said "Well, when you were brought in by some Motimon, your arms were bleeding profusely. There was nothing major, you were just covered in scratches and minor cuts. But there were so many, it was as if you had used a cheese grater repeatedly on both arms. You had to be rushed to the medics right away." I sat there stunned at what he told me. "Alright," I said, "second question." "What is it Ben?" "Pinmon, where are my clothes?" I watched as he almost fell off the bed from laughter. "It's not funny Pinmon." I said. "Sor...haha...Sorry Ben, your clothes are in the closet in the corner. But are you sure that you don't want to rest some more?" I sighed, because it was true that I was still very tired. "Alright, I'll go back to bed, but promise to wake me when you get up Pinmon." "Why?" "Well, I still have to meet this head knight don't I?" Pinmon smiled and said, "You know what, you're right, besides, you're gonna need your energy for the initiation tests. Goodnight Ben." He then left me alone in my room, where I eventually fell back asleep, after staying awake for an hour thinking of what I'd have to go through the next day." 


	3. On to the Initiation

Disclaimer: (This is embarrassing, how many times am I gonna have to say it?, all right here it goes.) Once again I must state that I don't own digimon, or anything in association with it, except this fic, this fic is mine! you can't have it you digimon hoarding fools! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! -_- Sorry about that, I got carried away again, well enjoy this chapter, remember to R&R, and as always "BOO HA HA!"  
  
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Knock knock...knock knock..., "Ben?" He didn't answer, so I slowly opened the door to his room and stuck my head in, "Now where... ah, he's still sleeping." I walked over to his sleeping form, forcing myself not to laugh. He was lying halfway off the bed, covered in a sheet, with his feet in the air. "I hope he's okay..." I gently prodded at him with a claw, "Ben, Ben are you awake?" His only response to my inquiry was to mumble something about cookies and, bad clowns? I sighed wondering what I should do. I then saw the wash basin and pitcher next to the bed. A mischievous smile appeared as I thought "Well, he did me ask to wake him, so..."  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I yelled as something very cold, and very wet was suddenly thrown on me. "Damn!, what was that!?!" I heard someone laughing and pushed myself up onto the bed to find Pinmon with an empty pitcher in hand. "What was that for Pinmon?, now I'm soaking wet!" I yelled at him angrily. I swear, I've never seen someone use a look that was as innocent as Pinmon gave me. "Why Ben," he said, "you told me to wake you, and you wouldn't when I called your name, so I did the next best thing. By the way Ben, I can see that you decided not to put your clothes back on last night." I looked down at myself to see that I was in my birthday suit. "Damn it!" I yelled, yanking the sheet over me embarrassingly. This caused Pinmon to laugh all the harder.  
  
I glared at him as hard as I could, but couldn't help but break into laughter as well. After we had both calmed down, I asked Pinmon to leave so that I could get dressed. Pinmon nodded while wearing a huge grin and strode out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. I hopped out of bed, still wearing the sheet, and went to procure my clothing from the closet. I opened the closet and viewed its contents. "Hmmm...let's see, here are my jeans, socks, and underwear!, but where is my shirt?" I thought to myself. It wasn't there, the closest thing to a shirt in the closet was some kind of jacket with metal clasps all over it. I put on the rest of my clothes and called for Pinmon, somehow thinking that he'd hear me. I was right, he soon opened the door, walked in and asked "You ready to go Ben?" "Pinmon, one thing, where's my shirt?" Pinmon looked away from me and said, "Well, you see, when you were brought in, the medics stripped you to properly examine your injuries. The Motimon that brought you in wanted to do something to help. They explained what had happened, luckily for them, since I was furious. You were fine though, so I suggested that they wash your clothes."  
  
"You were furious?" I said, "about what?" Pinmon looked at me, "It was my fault that you got lost, If I hadn't been in such a hurry, then none of this would've happened." I sat there in shock, "He blames himself?" I grabbed Pinmon by the arm and stared him in the eye, "Look Pinmon, this wasn't your fault, you got that? If anyone is to blame, it should be me. It was my own stupidity that caused me to get hurt. If I had just remained calm instead of freaking out from the sounds the Motimon were making...well, anyways it's not your fault, and I don't want to hear you saying anything like that again, please!" Pinmon lowered his head submissively "Alright Ben." I let go of him, then sighed and asked "Now, what happened to my shirt?" Pinmon looked back up at me and said, "Well, the Motimon washed your clothes, but it seems that when they were taking them down from drying, one of them digivolved. This newly digivolved Tentomon was so excited that he accidentally zapped your shirt, which caused it to burst into flames."  
  
I stared at him incredulously, "You're kidding, right?" Pinmon smirked and said "Nope, in fact you're kind of lucky, in a way." "Why's that?" Pinmon looked at the jacket I had tossed on the bed, "That jacket is on loan to you from the head knight himself." "What!?!" "Calm down Ben, he felt sorry for you is all, and he decided that he'd help you out, seeing as you might be the newest member to our little club here." I looked at the jacket lying next to me. With a shrug, I picked it up and put it on. It was, I'm afraid, just a little too big. It hung down to my knees and my arms were almost completely covered! I looked up at Pinmon, only to find him trying his hardest not to laugh at my appearance. I sighed, "Well this isn't too bad, and at least it's something. Although, what kind of digimon wears a leather jacket?" I thought this over and decided that it didn't really matter. "Well Pinmon, I guess it's time isn't it?" Pinmon smiled and said, "You're right!, c'mon Ben let's hurry up and go, they're probably waiting for you as it is." He then turned and walked out the door with me right behind him, "They're?"  
  
I followed him down corridors, hallways, and even a couple stairwells. On the way toward our destination, I found that I was seemingly the object of discussion among the inhabitants. Every time a digimon, or usually a group of them, saw Pinmon and I, they would stop and stare, or start to whisper among themselves. I started to get pretty nervous and was starting to have second thoughts about what I was doing, then Pinmon spoke up, "Well, here we are Ben." We were standing before an ordinary looking door, just like the one to my room. Pinmon started to knock on it, when it opened from the other side. A Gabumon stood there with its' arms crossed, and an annoyed look on its face.  
  
"Well it's about time you showed up Pinmon." Pinmon only shrugged and said with a grin, "I know, I know, but is it my fault if the laundry service is horrible? Poor Ben here would have had to come down naked, if it wasn't for my quick thinking." I glared at Pinmon, "Wait a minute..." Gabumon then grabbed both of our arms and dragged us inside. "Come on you two, your initiation is about to start." Pinmon looked shocked, "Hold on, you mean I have to do this as well?" Gabumon only nodded and growled as he opened a door on the other side of the bedroom, it did turn out to be and ordinary bedroom after all. He then kicked it open, revealing nothing, as the other side was pitch black, and turned to leave. I just stared at this doorway, "Okay, so what do we do now." Pinmon was also staring at the doorway, which is why we never saw it coming. "Hope you're not afraid of the dark." said Gabumon from behind us, as he then rammed us through the doorway, and slammed the door shut behind us, leaving us in total darkness.  
  
I sat there stunned, then I searched for Pinmon. "Pinmon?, where are you?" "Right here." said Pinmon from my left. I turned toward the voice, and reached out to get a feel of where he was. That wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, "Ouch!" I yelled, pulling my hand back. It felt like I had been stabbed with something sharp. "Ben, are you okay, what's wrong?" I realized what had happened, "Pinmon, you need to relax, I stabbed myself on your quills." I then felt something touch my chest and then latch on to my shoulders. "Sorry Ben, I was just surprised by Gabumon is all." I grabbed his arm and held on to it, I didn't want to lose him in this darkness. "Is this part of the initiation Pinmon?" Pinmon sounded confused as he answered, "I don't know, I've never heard of something like this happening before." We both jumped in surprise as a loud, deep voice spoke out, "The time has come."  
  
The sound seemed to come from off to the right, I turned toward it and called out, "Who's there?" I had to quickly shut my eyes from the light that suddenly flared to life. Pinmon growled and said, "A little warning would have been nice." As I stood there rubbing, and blinking my eyes, I finally got a view of where we were, and who had spoken. We were in a large wooden chamber, brightly lit from the fluorescent lighting, the walls were covered with tapestries, and suits of armor along the walls. Of course, some of the armor was oddly shaped, obviously not being made for humanoid digimon. I then saw the being that had spoken; it was sitting in what appeared to be one of three huge thrones. The other two were also similarly occupied.  
  
I recognized them all from the t.v. show, the one on the left was an Andromon, the one on the right was an Etemon, and the digimon occupying the middle throne was an Angemon. I stared in awe, almost thinking that I was once again dreaming all of this, when Pinmon nudged me, "Come on Ben, show some respect." I looked at him and saw that he was on his knees, so I followed suit. The Angemon then spoke up, "Welcome Ben; it is good to meet you." "Yeah, ditto baby, uh-huh." said Etemon. The Andromon simply nodded in greeting.  
  
I thought of what I should say in response, I mean I didn't want to seem rude. So I said the first thing that popped into my mind, "Hey." The three digimon stared at me, as if expecting more. Well, Angemon and Andromon stared, Etemon seemed to be humming to himself. This was a very awkward moment. It's a good thing Pinmon knew exactly what to say. "Well, we're here, so when does Ben start his testing?" The Angemon turned to Pinmon and said, "As usual Pinmon, you go right to the heart of the matter." "Thanks, I think." said Pinmon. The Andromon then spoke up, "We are currently unable to begin the testing." "Why not?" I said, finally getting over my embarrassment. Etemon spoke up; "We're waitin for the head mon himself, uh-huh." "The head knight is supposed to start the testing, but he isn't here yet." said Angemon.  
  
Suddenly a loud sound, like the revving of an engine was heard, and it started to get louder. Andromon said "By my estimations, he should be arriving in 1.5 minutes." "Pinmon," said Angemon, "you and Ben might want to stand next to the wall." "What's going on Pinmon?" I asked, as we moved to one of the suits of armor. "The head knight is coming," said Pinmon, "you know, the guy whose jacket you're wearing." "Oh." I said, as the noise got louder and louder. We watched the end of the hallway where a pair of doors stood closed. The noise seemed to be coming from that direction. As it got louder, I began thinking to myself, "Now wait a minute, a loud engine, a leather jacket, and the fact that he's late, why does this sound familiar?"  
  
The noise was very close now, "10 seconds..." said Andromon. Then the doors started to swing outward. I still had this nagging feeling that I was missing something. "6 seconds..." said Andromon. "What could it be, think Ben think," then it hit me, "no way..." "2 seconds..." "Heh, hail to the king baby, uh-huh." said Etemon as the head knight himself rode through the doorway on top of a gigantic, roaring motorcycle. It was of course, none other than Beelzemon. He pulled to a halt in front of the thrones. Then he got off and said, "Well boys and girls, I'm here, so where's the new guy?"  
  
I stood there, not quite believing my eyes. One of my all time favorite characters from the series had just appeared before me. Of course, there was no way that this was the same mon, right? But hadn't Etemon been talking like he did in the show? As I stared a Beelzemon I realized he had just asked about me. I didn't know what to do, let alone say. Once again it was Pinmon to the rescue.  
  
"Hey Beelzemon, it's about time you showed up!" Beelzemon turned toward us for the first time. "Pinmon, there you are!" Beelzemon strode over to us, snapping his tail like a whip. He looked down at me as I stared up at him. "Hey bub, name' Beelzemon, how ya doin?" he said as he stuck out his hand. "G...good, and it's an honor to meet you sir." I said as I shook his hand. "Sir!?!" said Beelzemon, "ha!, that's a laugh, just Beelzemon'll do. Hmmm...well it's a little big, but I hope you like the jacket." Beelzemon then turned and walked back his bike.  
  
"I think it's about time we started the initiation." said Angemon, as Beelzemon remounted his bike. "I concur with this assessment." said Andromon. "Let's get this party started, uh-huh." said Etemon. "You two come here." said Beelzemon. Pinmon and I walked up to the demonic biker, and stood before him. "Pinmon and Ben, do you two know why you're here?" asked Angemon. Pinmon answered before I did, "I don't know why I'm here, aren't I already a DigiKnight? These initiations are supposed to be private aren't they?" "Yes you are a DigiKnight, and yes, normally these occasions are private," said Andromon, "but due to the circumstances of you two being partners, you must take a different initiation together with Ben." "How bout's you Ben, why do ya think you're here, huh?" said Beelzemon.  
  
I answered as honestly as I could, "No, I don't know why I'm here." Pinmon looked at me in surprise, as well as the others. "I mean I know I'm here to see if I'm to be a DigiKnight, but why was I chosen?" Angemon smiled and said, "Would you believe me if I said it's destiny?" I smirked at that and said, "That's got to be the corniest thing I've ever been told." Angemon shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's worked before, so it was worth a shot. As to the real reason, Andromon if you would be so kind?" "Certainly," said Andromon, "the reason that you were chosen Ben, is unknown to any of us. We are not the ones who decide. But I can tell you that there must be something unique about you. You have been one of the very select few to obtain a partner. There are hundreds of DigiKnights all around the digital world, human and digimon alike. But only a select few have partners."  
  
"In other words," said Beelzemon, "we don't know why you were chosen, it just happens." "Okay," I said, "but why did I receive a partner?" Pinmon looked a little hurt when I asked this, but I decided I'd talk to him later about it. Angemon stood up angrily and said, "You might as well ask why Pinmon received a human partner, when others haven't! It's not something decided by us Ben. If it was, then almost every DigiKnight would have a partner. The bond between partners is decided by fate, at birth. You may not have known it when you were born, but Pinmon here has known. He has waited almost 20 years for you to arrive, so just accept it, don't try to find the reason behind it." I simply nodded my head, and looked at my feet in shame. I hadn't meant to be disrespectful in any way, and I certainly hadn't meant to hurt Pinmon's feelings, but I had done it all the same.  
  
I felt a hand grasp my shoulder. I looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes, "It's okay  
  
Ben," said Pinmon, "you were just curious, there's no way you could have known how lucky that you and I are to have a bond." I nodded and looked back up at Angemon. He sat back down and sighed, "I'm sorry I had an outburst like that, and I hope you realize it's nothing personal." "Shall we proceed then?" asked Andromon. Etemon spoke up then, "There's a question that's still gotta be asked, uh-huh." "You are correct Etemon," said Angemon, "Ben there is one more question that needs to be answered before we proceed. You must answer with no doubts. Do you understand?" I nodded, and then was asked the question by Beelzemon, "Ben, do you wanna be a DigiKnight?" I was surprised at this question, I mean that's why I was here right?, to become a DigiKnight? So of course I'd want to be one..., didn't I?  
  
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BOO HA HA! Yes I know this ending kind of leaves you hanging. But what did you expect, I get almost no reviews. So I don't know if I should make improvements, or leave things as then are. Come on, send a review, I don't even care if you wanna flame me, just do it! 


	4. The initiation

Disclaimer: You know, saying this disclaimer has become the bane of my existence. I can't sleep, eat, or even concentrate properly. You would think that I was a walking zombie if you saw me. So guess what all you uptight corporate lawyers, I refuse to say this disclaimer anymore. What are you gonna do about it, huh? (CRASH! the door to my room is knocked down by an evil corporate lawyer.) You will do this disclaimer, says the lawyer. What if I don't? (Lawyer walks over to cabinet, opens secret compartment, and takes out one of my digimon tapes) I see you have every episode here, says the lawyer, It'd be a shame if they were to somehow catch fire. (He then proceeds to hold up Yamakis' lighter) AHHHHH! NOOOO!, okay you win, I don't own digimon, there you happy now? Good, says the lawyer, now keep it up or I'll have to come back. (Lawyer then jumps out window, flying off into the night) Alright, I said it, and if you read this disclaimer, I congratulate you. Be warned, this chapter deals a lot with Ben's past and feelings. Now read the fic, while I hide my tapes.

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I could see that Pinmon was getting anxious. They had been waiting for an answer for over 10 minutes, although I could've sworn it was more like 10 hours. At first I had just wanted to shout out "Yes, yes, of course I do!" But then I started thinking about it. This was to be one of the biggest decisions of my life, so there was no way that I was just going to rush into it. 

_"Do I really want to be a DigiKnight?"_ According to what Pinmon had told me earlier, a DigiKnight was to protect, serve, and just plain help the peace loving, good digimon of this world. But this was no game I was playing, or some show I was watching. This was real life. I imagined myself getting crushed by a Tyrannomon, or pinned like an insect by a Togemon. I could really get hurt, even...die. Was I willing to risk my life for others, beings I didn't even know, or who were not even human? I just didn't know.

O

I watched Ben intently. I still gripped his shoulder to let him know that I supported him. But what was taking him so long to decide? Didn't he want to be here? Didn't he want to become a DigiKnight?, hell, he was one of the chosen 10, the last to be chosen. But he couldn't know about that yet, it wasn't time for him to know. I thought that I knew what he would decide to do. Maybe I was wrong...maybe he wasn't ready. No!, I felt it through our bond, even if he couldn't yet. He was ready, and more powerful than he thought he was. I wanted him to stay with me, fight by my side. Sure he wasn't much to look at, but that didn't matter to me. Plus, he was my brother, not physically of course, but mentally, and even spiritually, I felt him to be family. I needed him, and I felt he needed me, he just had to say yes!

O

I stood there still undecided. Was I going to give up my life, just to become some kind of digital cop? Would I even be able to go back home, damn it, I didn't even know if I could go home now! I felt Pinmon squeeze my shoulder, and I looked him in the eye. He said he was my partner, this great yellow porcupine. He'd already become my friend, but what did I really know about him? 

As I looked at him, I thought that I felt something, almost like someone giving me a huge bear hug. But it was more of an emotional feeling, than a physical one. _"He called me his brother," _I thought, _"he said a brother in arms, but did he mean more than that?" _I then started to think about my own brothers, and the rest of my family. _"Was there ever a time that we got along peacefully with each other?"_ I thought to myself. I had never liked my brothers, we had always had a rivalry among us. It was a relief to me, when I finally moved out. Even then I was still criticized by them, I disliked them so much, it could even be said that I hated them.

My mom though, was a different story. She was always there for me. She always encouraged me to try new things, and become involved in activities. I should have listened to her. I never joined anything in school. I was an outcast, constantly harassed, bullied, and made fun of. I had things stolen from me, thrown at me, and even once, I was stabbed, with a pencil but it hurt like hell. I hated my life so much, that I would fake being sick, just to avoid school. It got so bad that by the time tenth grade rolled around, I couldn't handle it anymore, I snapped. I then moved to a new school and things got a little better, but not much.

I was always asked, what are you gonna do after high school? I hated that question, for I had no idea. I suppose it's my fault that I went to college for accounting. My school had been offering that as a class, and my mom had me take it. I actually did pretty well. Then the one time that I told my mom that I liked it, BAM!, she's getting all these college pamphlets and brochures for me to look at. I just couldn't tell her no, she was one of the only few people I cared for.

Life after high school became routine, I went to my classes during the day, and worked nights and weekends. It was boring, dull, and stupid, but at least I was doing something with my life. At least that's what I kept telling myself. The only thing that seemed to brighten up my day would be a thing that others my age would laugh at me for liking, saying that it's for kids. So I kept my personal life just that, personal. I loved digimon damn it! I loved the characters, the stories, the adventures, and most of all the relationships between the humans and their digital partners. Then the show got cancelled. That was a very sad time for me. Sure it may have only been a cartoon to others. But to me, it provided the perfect escape from my life. I got over it though, just as I had with my whole life, and soon I was just back to my regular boring routine of existence.

Now though, my life had taken an interesting twist. One that I know was for the better. I was here in the actual digital world, being given a chance to do something with my life. Not only that, but I even had a partner! I shook my head, clearing out any doubts. What was I doing even thinking of refusing? I was chosen damn it!, I needed, no..., wanted to do this. I smiled at Pinmon and his face lit up with hope, and that made me really happy. I needed to do this not just for me, but for him as well it seemed. I turned back to the group of digimon who were awaiting my answer. I blinked in surprise, for it seemed as if though Etemon and Beelzemon had fallen asleep where they sat. I smile again and said, "I have decided." Angemon nodded, and then poked Beelzemon and Etemon awake with his angel rod. "I want to be a DigiKnight, and help in anyway possible."

Their reactions to my decision were different. Angemon smiled, Andromon simply nodded, while Etemon was his usual witty self, "Well, it's 'bout time baby, uh-huh." Beelzemon looked at him and said, "Shut yer yap monkey-boy, the decision ain't easy ta make!" Pinmon on the other hand, surprised me the most. I suddenly felt myself in a powerful vice-like embrace. "Ben, I'm glad you said yes." "Pinmon?" I choked out. "Yes?" "Could you let go now, it's kinda hard to breathe!" Pinmon blushed as he set me down, "Sorry, just kinda got carried away, _hehehe_." "Don't worry about it." I said, checking to see if I had any broken ribs. 

"Well boyo, now thatcha made yer choice, you ready fer the next part of our little test?" said Beelzemon. "Sure," I replied, "bring on the next question." "Ha!, a question, you'd wish it was a question, uh-huh!" I looked toward Angemon, "So the next part isn't a question?" "No Ben," Angemon said with a sad smile, "now is the part where you must prove yourself." "You must succeed in this phase of the initiation, or you will not be proven capable of performing as a DigiKnight." said Andromon in his monotone voice. "What do I have to do?" I asked. Beelzemon hopped off his bike, and said, "Follow me." Then he started walking around the thrones. I followed, and saw that behind the thrones was a simple wooden doorway. "You gotta go through here." said Beelzemon quietly.

"That's it?" I asked, not convinced that it was. "Nah, course not." said Beelzemon, "once ya and Pinmon go through this door, you're gonna be faced with a challenge." "Pinmon's going in with me?" I asked. "'Course he is, he's yer partner. He's ta face this challenge with ya, and help in any way he can." "So, what happens if I fail?" said Pinmon worriedly, "Does that mean Ben fails?" "No," said Angemon coming up from behind us, "this is Ben's test, you are to simply assist him in it. You can in no way cause him to fail, so do no worry about it." "Okay." said Pinmon cheerfully. "Um...Beelzemon?" I said, "What kind of test is his exactly? I mean what am I supposed to do in there?" "Good question," said Beelzemon as he opened the door, revealing a blinding light that caused me to cover my eyes. "I can't answer ya though, cuz everyone's test is different." "How do I know what to do then?" I said, still covering my eyes because of the light. "Whatever comes natrally I guess." said Beelzemon, "Well good luck." He then grabbed both Pinmon and me and shoved us through the doorway.

"Not again!" I said, falling to the floor with my eyes tightly shut. I heard a thump and soft cursing from beside me. "You okay Pinmon?" I asked. "Yeah I'm fine," he said, "hey Ben, what's wrong, you got something in your eyes?" "What?" I said, opening my eyes a little to see where he was exactly. "Hey!, what happened to the light?" "Never mind that Ben, I think where we are is more important." I looked around in surprise at my surroundings. We were no longer indoors, in fact we were on top of a grass covered hill surrounded by forest. Not the gigantic trees that I first encountered, but just regular sized trees. I stood up and looked for any signs of the castle, or the door that we had been pushed through. I didn't see any sign of them though. "Is this the test Pinmon?" I asked. Pinmon just shrugged his shoulders and said, "This isn't what my test was like." "Oh, well I guess I'm supposed to do something, but what it is I have no idea." 

"Come on Ben, it's getting dark out, we should find a more sheltered place to make camp." I looked up to find that he was right, the sun was just starting to set. "Alright, where should we go then?" I asked, for I had no idea how to set up camp. "Let's start walking and when we find a good spot, we'll make camp. If we don't find one, well, let's worry about that when we come to it." Pinmon then started walking down hill, towards the setting sun. I followed after him, but not before I felt a sudden cold breeze, which caused me to shiver. _"Huh,"_ I thought, _"that can't be a good sign." _I decided to ignore it though, and followed Pinmon into the forest. 

It was at least a half-hour after the sun had set that Pinmon said we should stop. I started to look for firewood. "No need for that Ben," said Pinmon, "it's going to be a warm night." I was going to argue with him, but decided against it, for I had no idea how to make a fire, and he didn't have his supplies with him like the first time I met him. I sat down next to Pinmon, who was laying against a fallen tree. I was about to close my eyes and try to sleep when he asked me a question. "Hey Ben?" "Yeah?" I mumbled in reply. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I was wondering, well..., um..., when you were asked if you wanted to be a DigiKnight..." I saw where this was going, "You want to know why I took so long to answer?" "Well, yeah, I mean I understand that it's an important decision, but what were you thinking about that took so long?" 

I turned so that I was facing him. "You sure you want to know?" I asked. "Of course I do, I mean were partners, it's only natural that we should get know almost everything about each other." I sighed, "Alright then, but, please don't tell anyone else, I'm only going to tell you because you're my friend, and I trust you." "I'd never betray your trust Ben." said Pinmon, looking a little hurt that I'd even think such a thing. "Sorry, but I had to make sure, well anyways..." I then proceeded to tell him what had been going through my mind when I was asked to make the decision. 

I finished telling him about an hour later. I would've been done sooner, except that I found it harder to talk about my past than I though it'd be. "Well..., no wonder it took you so long to decide." said Pinmon. "Yea, but what about you Pinmon?" "Huh, what do you mean?" "I mean, what made you decide to be a DigiKnight?" Pinmon sat up from where he'd been laying, "Oh, I guess you could say that I was born to do it." Now it was my turn to be confused, "What do you mean by that?" Pinmon chuckled and said, "Most DigiKnights choose to become one as they get older. I, on the other hand, knew I was to be a DigiKnight at a very young age." "How'd you know?" "Because of our bond Ben. You may not feel it yet, but I have felt it since the moment I hatched from my egg, in fact that would be the exact same moment that you were born." I was shocked, "You mean we were born at the exact same time?" "Yep, that's how all the partnered humans and digimon are born. It ties us together in a way that friendship never could. We are basically brothers Ben." "You're not kidding are you?" I said quietly, for I was amazed and in shock. "Nope." "Well then, we should get to sleep so I can be ready to face this challenge." "Okay then Ben, well goodnight." said Pinmon, laying back down into his curled up sleeping position. I smiled, and made myself comfortable as well. "Goodnight...brother." I said as I closed my eyes.

_Cold, darkness, snow, ice...where was I? I was so cold, it seemed to reach deep inside to suck out all my heat. I shivered, and tried to stand up. I couldn't, I was frozen to the ground! Where was Pinmon?, where was I? Pinmon help me, I need you! The snow is piling around me like walls. It was getting hard to breathe. I couldn't feel anything except the cold. Tired, so tired, I should just go to sleep. When I wake up I'll be warm again...yes, when I wake up._

Crack!, I woke up instantly, finding myself being surrounded by warmth. _Crack!_, "Ow!, what are you doing Pinmon!" I cried out, for he had slapped me hard across the face. "Ben!, you're awake!, finally, come on, we've gotta make a fire." I was still groggy from just waking, "What?, why?" "Look around you Ben!, why do you think it's so cold!" I glanced around, then rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was snowing!, and by the amount on the ground, it must've been just after we fell asleep. I found that I was numb all over, and if Pinmon hadn't been able to wake me...., I didn't even want to think about it. I started looking for as much dead wood that I could. I gathered several different pieces that didn't seem to be to wet. Pinmon was already next to a pile of his own, trying to get a fire going. He was making sparks with what looked like rocks, and was light a tiny pile of kindling. As I came up next to him, the kindling finally caught. Then the wind started to blow. Pinmon and I shielded the tiny flames with our bodies, and so far it had worked, we weren't going to freeze! But, fate can be cruel. As the flames started to burn brighter and stronger, the wind suddenly blew even harder! We were still protecting the fire with our bodies, but not from above. A loose pile of snow fell from the tree above us, right onto our fire! I started to laugh aloud, while Pinmon looked like he was ready to cry. 

I stood up and said "Come on, let's go." Pinmon looked up at me like I was crazy, "Just where do we go to?" "I don't know, but we gotta get moving, or else we're gonna freeze to death. Maybe we'll find a cave or something to spend the night in." I held out my hand for him to take. Pinmon nodded and grabbed it, then we started off, deeper into the forest. I was starting to feel again, and found that I hurt, particularly my face, which Pinmon had been slapping. As we trudged through the forest, the snow seemed to be getting less. I guessed that it was because of the overhead canopy, it got thicker as we continued, creating an umbrella of sorts against the snow. 

We stopped after awhile, for Pinmon had spotted a shelter of sorts. It was basically, a bunch of fallen trees. But they had fallen into each other, creating a small gap in between them. We crawled and stayed in there for the rest of the night. The snow seemed to be behind us, and it was warm and dry under the fallen trees. Before I succumbed to exhaustion, I had one more thing to do, "Pinmon?" I said. "What?" he said, breathing heavily. "I just wanted to thank you." "For what?" he said. "For waking me up, although, did you have to bruise me?" I laughed as I rubbed my sore jaw. Pinmon laughed along with me, "Sorry about that, but you wouldn't wake up, and I couldn't think of anything else to do. Anyways, it's you who saved us." "What do you mean?" Pinmon laughed and said, "Well if you didn't snore so loud then I wouldn't have woken up, and we would've both frozen." "That's not funny Pinmon." I said while laughing. Pinmon laughed again and said, "No, it's not, but it's true. Well, goodnight bro, it's about time we got some sleep." I agreed with him and soon we were leaning against each other, oblivious to the fact that it started snowing again.

O

I awoke to the scent of freshly fallen snow. I started to stretch and noticed that Ben was leaning against my side. I then pushed some branches out of the way, to look outside. Snow was everywhere, I guessed that the snowstorm had caught up with us and broken through the thick canopy of the forest. I sighed, because I hated walking through the stuff, it clung to my fur, and water froze between my toes. I wondered why it was warm inside this wooden cave of ours, but then guessed that our combined body heat had been enough to warm the small enclosure. It was past dawn, and I was about to awaked Ben when I noticed the tracks. I stepped outside and saw that they were right outside our shelter, but then they just stopped. I stood there in confusion when I heard the growl. I really should learn to look in every direction, including above me.

O

I woke up to yelling and screaming. I looked for Pinmon, and saw that he wasn't with me. I got to the opening as fast as I could and jumped outside, looking for the noise. Then the yelling stopped. I heard a strange gurgling noise and ran to the right of the shelter. What I saw will remain in my memory forever. Pinmon was being held in mid-air by the throat, desperately clawing at the hand choking him. The attacker was a Fridgimon, I recognized it from the first season. It held Pinmon there, smiling at Pinmons' pain. I didn't know what to do. The Fridgimon turned to look at me, and seemed to grin. It then proceeded to shake Pinmon while choking the life out of him. Pinmon's entire face had a bluish tint to it! He was going to die if I didn't do something! I got mad, no I wasn't mad, I was furious! This digimon was going to kill my brother!, I had to do something! I felt something come over me then, it was a force, a torrent of power!, it was then, I think, that I snapped.

I don't remember much of what happened next, except that I had reached down and grabbed something, I think it was some kind of thick branch. Then the next thing I knew was that I was standing over the Fridgimon, and it was bleeding heavily from its' face, and had bruises all over its' body. I turned from it, and looked for Pinmon. I found him crumpled up on the ground nearby. I rushed over to him, he was conscious. "Are you okay?" I asked him. He nodded, and hoarsely said "I'm okay..., but..., look out!" I whirled around to see the Fridgimon about ready to pound me into the ground. Instinct took over, and I lashed out with my weapon. I didn't realize that one of its ends was pointed like a spear. It went straight through the Fridgimons' eye. I stood there a moment, in shock, while blood poured from its wound. It didn't make a sound and just stood there as still as a statue. It then fell to the ground, twitching before it stilled. I stood there is disbelief, and watched, as its body literally dissolved before my eyes. 

I was still staring at the spot when I felt something grab my arm. "Ben, Ben, are you okay?" said Pinmon. "What have I done?" I whispered, I don't think even Pinmon heard me. "Ben look there's the door, the test is over, we can go back now." I didn't respond to Pinmon's talking. I just stared at the spot where the Fridgimon had been. "Ben?" What had I done, I had killed! "Ben, what's wrong?" I HAD KILLED! "Ben?, come on say something." I think it was then that the shock wore off and I fell to the ground sobbing. 

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Whew!, this is my longest chapter yet. But once again, another cliffhanger! BOO HA HA! I know it's mean of me. But what do you expect? Almost none of you pitiful mortals review my work, no matter how many times I ask you to. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW my work you insignificant beings. How else am I supposed to get inspiration to write more. It's not like I get paid to do this or anything. Although it'd be great if I did! To those who have reviewed, I give you my thanks and everlasting gratitude. But the rest of you pathetic creatures should be stripped down to your birthday suits, staked over a fire ant nest, and covered in honey! Bow before me mortals, and those who review my work! For we are few and great! (Crash!, the evil lawyer comes back through the window I had boarded up) "I've got the honey and ants, and you are a mortal yourself Knight!, come here!" Crap! (I run away as quick as I can), and as always, I'll close by saying one thing, BOO HA HA! 


	5. In the spotlight

Disclaimer: Wow, it's been a while since my last update. Don't worry though, I'll make it up to all of you somehow! It isn't easy making a digimon story with original characters you know. It sure would be easier if I had a muse, hmmm... (Pinmon comes out of the closet, since he had to hide from that evil lawyer that was here last time) "I thought I was your muse?" he says with a sad, sad look. "No, you're just my OC, friend, and bodyguard. Hey wait a minute, where were you when that evil lawyer showed up!" Pinmon sweatdrops "Well I, I, was, ummm... sleeping! Yeah that's it I was sleeping!" (He then runs back into the closet) "Okay that was weird, might as well get this over with before that lawyer comes back and tries to find where I hid my digimon tapes." 

"**I DON'T OWN DIGIMON!!!"**

"There, I said it, now read the next chapter, and don't forget to review, you insignificant mortals you!!!" 

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"BOO HA HA!!!!"

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_My hands stop their shaking as I sit in front of my computer, staring at the screen. I slowly unclench them as the intense feeling of remorse and regret slowly pass, just like they always do. Writing about my past has caused memories to resurface, memories that I would have rather kept buried. I couldn't stop now though, I had already started and there was much more for me to tell. "Ben?" called a voice from outside my study. I couldn't help but smile as I said "What is it Pinmon?" The door to my study opened, and in walked my best friend, my brother. "Are you okay Ben?" he asked, giving me a concerned look, while holding a tray in front of him. "Yea, I'm fine, why do you ask?" Pinmon set the tray of food on the desk next to me, "I heard a crash...", he then noticed the mug that had broken upon hitting the floor. I sighed, "I'm okay, I was just...remembering old times is all." Pinmon looked at the computer screen to see what I had written. "I see," he said, "Ben that's in the past you need to let it go. Besides, you know what Angemon told us." "Yes, I know, but some things can never be forgotten, or undone, no matter how much one wishes it. You and I know that better then anyone." Pinmon closed his eyes and said, "I know...I know, well, I brought you some lunch, she made it especially for you." He then smiled and opened his baby blue eyes, "She was very insistent that you eat it all." I looked at what he had brought, "Figures it'd be something she likes," I said as I looked at the tuna sandwich and glass of milk, with an apple on the side, "tell her that I said it looks delicious." Pinmon laughed and started to leave, "Don't forget Ben, that no matter what has happened in the past, all that matters now is the present, you, me, and her." I smiled to myself as I heard the door shut behind him. "I won't Pinmon, I couldn't, and I wouldn't." I then took a bite of the sandwich, as I resumed my work, "Crap, there's relish in this!" _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I awoke to find myself in bed. For a second I didn't know where I was, and then I recognized the jacket that Beelzemon had given me, lying on a chair next to my bed. _"Why am I in bed?"_ I thought, and then the memories started pouring in. _"NO!, it didn't happen, it was a DREAM!" _I screamed inside my head as I rocked back and forth. I heard a knock, and looked up to see my door open. Pinmon came inside bearing a tray of food and his bag that he had when I first met him. He saw what I was doing, set everything down, and rushed to my side. "Ben, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned for me. I stopped rocking back and forth, and looked up at him, with tears running down my face. "Wh...what have I done Pinmon?" Pinmon sat down next to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Ben, you had no choice, you had to do it." I couldn't help it, all the pain and sorrow that I had been feeling suddenly rushed into me. I leaned forward, encircled my arms around him, and just cried into his shoulder. Pinmon stayed with me, just holding me, supporting me when I needed him. He had no idea how grateful I was at that moment, how much I needed someone to hold onto while the grief wracked my body, shaking me violently. 

O

I don't know how long it was until he stopped. I was surprised when he hugged me, but I just took it as a sign that he needed someone to help him. I sat there for what seemed hours, holding my brother in my arms, as he sobbed into my shoulder. I didn't really know what to say, I mean he was a grown man, almost 20 years old, and I was holding him as though he were a scared little child. I felt sorry for him though, and could not even imagine what he must be thinking. I have never killed anyone, and yet, my brother here did. He did it to save my life. I can never repay him for that. I felt our bond growing stronger day by day, even if he hasn't shown any indication that he has felt it. I do know one thing for certain though, Ben is my best friend, partner, and brother, all rolled into one person. I am connected to him, and I wouldn't want it any other way. If I had to choose between him living or me dieing, I'd gladly sacrifice myself for him. I opened my eyes and leaned back, finding that Ben has fallen asleep, exhausted. I laid him back down onto the bed and quietly sat in the chair next to him. Then I too, soon fell asleep.

O

I awoke again to the smell of something good. I blinked wearily, and rubbed my tired eyes. I heard a soft sound and looked to my right, only to find Pinmon halfway off a chair, fast asleep. I smiled and noticed that it was kind of cold. I sat up, pulled the blanket off, and looked for the jacket Beelzemon had given me. I found it under the chair that Pinmon was in. I grabbed it and put it on, still not used to its size, it hung off me like a short robe. I looked at Pinmon who seemed to shiver in his sleep. I smiled again, as I realized that the chair was probably not the most comfortable place in the world. I gently lifted him up, but not without some effort on my part, _"Gee, he's heavy_._" _ I thought, as I placed him on the bed. I then covered him with the blanket that had been covering me. I smiled as he let out a sigh of comfort, and started to softly snore. I then walked over to the table where he had placed the food.

I lifted the lid off the tray, and was glad to find that it had kept the food warm. It must've only been an hour or two since he came with the food. I sat down in the only other wooden chair and proceeded to eat. I noticed that there was enough for two, and saved half for Pinmon. I smiled as I ate, for the food consisted of a thick stew, and half a loaf of dark, brown bread. _"Well it's better then hot dogs, and mac & cheese."_ I thought to myself as I ate. When I finished, I replaced the cover and got a drink from the pitcher of water by the built in sink. I thought Pinmon had called it a wash basin or something. While I sat there, with my cup of water, I started to think about what had happened.

_"What have I done?, I've killed someone. What happened to me, why did I do it? I didn't have to, I could have just knocked that Fridgimon down again, although I'm not quite sure how I did it in the first place. When I saw Pinmon being choked to death, something inside me snapped. The scary thing is, that... that I...I liked it. I liked the sense of power that washed over me. I'm not ashamed to say that I'd do it again in a heartbeat, if it meant protecting Pinmon. I can't let this keep me down though, I have to get through it. I was just defending myself, and my friend. It was justifiable, but was it right? I just don't know." _I snapped out of my thoughts, since thinking about it was giving me a headache. I got up and walked back over to the chair next to the bed. I sat down, and watched as Pinmon slept. I smiled and had one last thought before sleep overcame me, _"Well, he's sure made life...interesting, hasn't he?"_

O

I rolled over, and promptly fell out of...the bed? Why was I in the bed? I stood up and looked for Ben, only to find him in the chair next to the bed. The odd thing though, was that he was lying halfway on and off the chair, and at any second it seemed he would fall off. I grinned and rolled over the bed, to wind up sitting in front of him. I leaned forward as close as I could without touching him. Then, when I was looking directly into his closed eyes, I shouted "Hey Ben!"

O 

I immediately awoke to a loud yelling, only to yell even louder when I had sat up quickly and smashed my forehead into Pinmons'. "Owww" I moaned as I rubbed my bruised scalp. "Owww" came the response from Pinmon, who was sitting on the bed rubbing his head. "What was that for Pinmon?" I said as the pain subsided. Pinmon grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, I was just trying to wake you up." "Oh," I said as I stood up and yawned, "well, next time try doing it without giving me a concussion, hmmm?" Pinmon just laughed and stood up to stretch. He then walked over to a closed shutter and opened it, to reveal the bright sunlight streaming in.

"Looks like we've slept in a little late" said Pinmon. He then turned to me and laughed as I tried to straighten out my hair. "Don't worry about it Ben, you can take a shower, and use the mirror to fix yourself up. Better hurry though, we've got another meeting with the head knight." I was stunned, but not at the mention of the head knight, "There's a bathroom in here, where?" Pinmon laughed and turned around, I followed him to a tapestry, "This was just for looks...," he said as he pulled it back to reveal another door. He didn't get a chance to finish explaining though as I raced forward, knocked the door open, and slammed it shut behind me. I looked at the modern bathroom setup before me, "Oh thank god" I muttered as I finally was able to use the facilities in what must have been a couple days. I heard Pinmon outside the door laughing, and muttering something about "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

A half-hour later I came out of the bathroom, fresh out of the shower, and feeling refreshed. Good thing I had found a cabinet of dry towels in there, or putting my clothes back on would have been awkward. Pinmon was lying on the bed, but sat up when I came out. "Feeling better?" he asked with a smile. "Actually, a lot better." I replied. Pinmon got up and walked over to the table where he had set his bag. "Good then take this, and put it on" he said, and tossed me what appeared to be a piece of black leather. I looked at it, trying to decide what it was. It appeared to be a long leather arm covering of some sort, almost like a glove. It was long enough to cover my forearm, and it was fingerless. I slipped it onto my right arm, noticing that it seemed to tighten afterwards. "Pinmon, what's this?" I said as I moved my arm around, finding that the glove didn't constrict my movements in the lightest. I also noticed how the jacket covered up most of it. "It's your reward for passing the initiation, congratulations Ben, you are now a DigiKnight."

To say that I was surprised would be the least you could say. I was stunned, I was speechless, and I was confused. "Wh...what did you say?" I asked him, thinking I might have heard wrong. Pinmon smiled and leaned on the table, "I said you're a DigiKnight." "But...but I don't understand," I stammered, "you mean I passed the initiation?" Pinmon frowned and said "What, you thought you failed?" I nodded, and sat down on the bed. Pinmon walked over and sat down next to me. "Ben, if you had failed, you would have woken up back in your world. Everyone who fails is sent back where they came from almost immediately." I looked him in the eyes and said, "But, what I did..." Pinmon sighed and said "The test you took, that we took, was created by you Ben." "What?" I asked disbelievingly. Pinmon nodded and continued, "Look, all I know is that the doorway leads to some kind of testing grounds, where your sub consciousness creates a challenge for you to overcome." "But why did I have to go through...through that?" 

Pinmon looked at the ground and said "I'm afraid that's my fault, you see, all partnered DigiKnights supposedly have to take that test together." I got angry for a second, "So, what was this test trying to prove exactly?" Pinmon spoke the next words softly, "It was to test each of us in an area that we were lacking. So, two things were being tested in there. The first being that I could rely on you when I needed you the most, and the second, well, that was to prove that you could do what you had to, even if you hated it." I grabbed Pinmons' arm, "So that whole thing, the test, it wasn't real?" Pinmon shook his head and said, "No, it was real alright, there have been incidents where nobody returns from the test."

I let Pinmon go and stared at my hands, "So, that Fridgimon, I...I really killed it?" Pinmon didn't say anything, he just placed his hand on my shoulder. I sighed, because I knew what I had to do. "Okay then," I said standing up, "that's it, no more feeling sorry for myself, what's done is done, and I just have to live with it." Pinmon smiled and jumped up from where he was sitting, "That's right Ben, now come on, we still have to go see Beelzemon." I nodded and followed him out into the hall. As we walked through the passages, I asked Pinmon a question, "Hey Pinmon, how did we get out of that testing place anyways? I mean the last thing I remember about it was you saying that the door had appeared."

Pinmon looked at me with a grin, "You can thank Beelzemon for getting us out. You had passed out, and the doorway was starting to close. It's only designed to stay open for 10 minutes at a time. I could have gone through to get help, but the doorway would have sensed a presence leaving, and closed behind me, leaving you trapped, so I couldn't do that. I dragged you to the doorway and was about to go through when exhaustion from fighting the Fridgimon overcame me. I fell to my knees, to tired to move a muscle. Then Beelzemon stuck his head through the doorway, saw us, and pulled us on through. You know I think he likes us."

"Pinmon, why does Beelzemon want to see us anyway?" I asked. Pinmon laughed and said, "What, you didn't think the initiation was over already did you? The worst is yet to come." "Wait a minute," I said, as Pinmon stopped in front of a pair of doors, apparently our destination, "I thought I already passed, and that I was a DigiKnight?" Pinmon turned toward me with an evil grin, "True, but now comes the fun part." "What do you mean?" Pinmon laughed again and grabbed the handles to the doors. "You must take the oath of the DigiKnight." "Okay," I said confusedly, "what's so bad about that?" Pinmon grinned and said; "You must say it in front of witnesses." He then pushed both handles down, and yanked the doors open wide. I stood there and gulped, _"Awww nuts!" _ I thought as I saw what was before me.

O

I had to force myself not to laugh aloud at the look of horror on Bens' face. He was stone still, and he seemed to be barely breathing. "Pinmon?" he whispered so low, that only I could hear, since I stood next to him. "What?" I whispered back. "Who are they?" he said, as he looked upon the assembly. I glanced over the crowd that had turned to look at us. We were located inside one of the main assembly halls, so even tall digimon could attend. The ones that were too large could look in through the open windows. The crowd was a mixture of humans and digimon, all who were turned towards us. There must have been at least 30-40 of them there. I whispered to Ben, "These are the DigiKnights for this region, come to witness your oath taking." Ben looked toward me and said, "All the knights are here?" "Of course not Ben, there had to be at least two left at each post." The crowd in front of us started to part, forming a kind of empty path for us. "Pinmon, did you have this many people at your initiation?" I laughed aloud at that, "Of course not, I was just a regular DigiKnight, not one of the 10, unlike now. Now come on, we can't keep everyone waiting." I then grabbed his arm and started to pull him along the aisle. 

O

After the first five steps, I shook off Pinmon and walked on my own. Now, I don't know how, but somehow Pinmon knew that I didn't like crowds. They make me nervous, and I get easily embarrassed. Of course, it didn't help anything that the crowd around us kept staring. They didn't even make a sound, just stared. I swear that I must've looked like a ripe tomato, I was blushing so much. It seemed to take forever as Pinmon and I walked down that empty aisle. At the end of it was Beelzemon, and it seemed like he was trying not to laugh at my discomfort. 

Finally, we reached him, and he stood there mockingly, his tail moving back and forth. I looked to Pinmon and saw that he had knelt, so I followed his example. Beelzemon simply leaned back upon the motorcycle that was behind him and said, "Oy, it's 'bout time you two showed up." I looked up at him, just to see him smile and laugh, "Well, I s'poze betta late than never. Let's get on with it, whaddaya say?" I nodded and that seemed to suit him. "Ben, Pinmon, you two 'ave had a great honor bestowed upon you. You two are both DigiKnights!" The crowd behind us burst into applause. I was glad my back was too them, so they couldn't see me blushing even harder.

Beelzemon waited until the clapping died down. "Yes, that in itself is a great accomplishment, but you two are partnas'. I know you know what that means Pinmon, but what 'bout you Ben, do ya know what it means to be a partnered DigiKnight?" I shook my head, for although I had heard Pinmon talking about it, I still didn't have a clear idea. "Ben, out of all the hundreds of DigiKnights in this world, there have only ever been ten at a time that have partners. Those ten have been the key to our maintaining the peace in this world. You Ben, are the 10th DigiKnight, the last of the ten. Now that you're here, da circle of 10 is complete. Do ya understand?" I was too stunned by what I had just heard to answer. _"I'm the 10th DigiKnight?, is that what Pinmon meant by the reason for the crowd of witnesses?" _So I just nodded, since I now understood why I had a partner. Beelzemon smiled and motioned towards the crowd. A human, a woman, walked up to him and bowed, "Sheesh, how many timed 'ave I told ya people not to do that?" The woman handed him a rolled up parchment, bowed again, and walked back to her spot among the crowd.

"Let's get on with the show, uh-huh!" yelled a familiar voice from behind me and Pinmon. I turned and sure enough, there they were. Angemon, Andromon, and Etemon were standing in the front of the crowd watching us. Each one had a smile of his face, Etemon even gave me a thumbs up. "Shut yer yap monkey-boy! I'm gettin to the best part." yelled Beelzemon, and the crowd laughed. After the laughter calmed down, Beelzemon unrolled the parchment. "It's now my duty to read this here oath. Ben, Pinmon, you twos are to repeat what I says, thereby swearin yourselves in as DigiKnights. Do you both understand?"

I looked at Pinmon, and he smiled at me and nodded. _"Well, here I go."_ I thought. I turned toward Beelzemon and nodded in agreement. Then Beelzemon read the oath of the DigiKnight. Since it would take too long to tell what he said, and what we repeated, I'll just tell you the oath that Pinmon and I swore too.

"By body, mind, heart, and soul, these things I swear. To protect the weak, to give aid to those in need. To uphold the values of truth and honor in all things. To defend against those who would cause harm. To help the helpless, and care for my fellow mon. By body, mind, heart, and soul, these things I swear."

Beelzemon rolled up the parchment and put it inside his jacket. He then held out both hands for us to grab. Pinmon and I both did, and then found ourselves in a very tight hug from the mega demon lord. "Congratulations, and welcome to our liddle family!" shouted Beelzemon, causing the assembled DigiKnights behind us to clap, whistle, shout, and pretty much do anything to say congratulations. Before he let us go though, Beelzemon leaned down and whispered so that only we could hear. _"I'll be keepin my eye on the two of you, especially you Ben. Don't know why, but I likes ya for some reason. I'll be seein you both later tonight, count on it. By the way, glad ya like the jacket." _He then let us both go, and turned us toward the crowd. My face must have seemed on fire, I was blushing from all the attention being given to us. Pinmon just smiled and waved at all of them. We then were led by Angemon, Andromon, and Etemon to a banquet hall that held the biggest buffet tables I had ever seen. Behind us, smirking as he sat on his bike, Beelzemon shook his head and said to the now emptied room "Wonder what kind of fun those two will stir up."

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Well that's all for now you insignificant mortals! Next time, Ben and Pinmon get to party! There'll be Food, Fun, and Fighting? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again sorry about the length between updates. I do have a fan though, who reviews every time I write. I'd like to thank that person, and say that out of all the mortals, you are not so insignificant. Until next time you cowering peasants, remember this, (eyes turn a glowing red, grow to over 7 ft. tall, and suit of armor covers body, complete with dark blue cape) **_I am Lord of all I see and purvey, now bow before me you insignificant specs of dirt. Except those who review, they may dine with me in the Imperial Palace, and I shall have my Jugglers and Fools entertain us with flaming knives and tumbling tricks. There will also be a wench for all of you, and plenty of drink! I will destroy all those who stand against me in my conquest for total domination...._** Ooops, sorry, got carried away again, I'll stop now. Goodbye, and remember, **BOO HA HA!**


	6. Food, Fun, and Fighting

Disclaimer: 

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Knight of the Staff: Hey!, what do you know, it's that time again where I say the disclaimer. But since I'm basically lazy, I'll have my new muse do it for me. (Pinmon comes in the door carrying a pizza box.) 

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Pinmon: Here I am, ready, willing, and able. 

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Knight of the Staff: I'm not talking about you Pinmon, I'm talking about the newest addition to our little group. Would everybody please give a warm welcome to Guilmon!

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Guilmon: (Guilmon comes out of my closet, and looks around confusedly), Takatomon? 

Knight of the Staff: Um, Takatos' not here right now Guilmon, now be a good digimon and say the disclaimer. 

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Guilmon: (Guilmon blinks confusedly), "Who you?" 

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Knight of the Staff: I'll show you my true self (trumpets blare, and a bright light flashes, Ooooo~ooo special effects are nice) **_Behold mortal beings, for I am The Knight of the Staff. Possessor of the Staff of Power, now say the disclaimer and I'll give you the pizza! _**

Guilmon: (Guilmon grins), Okie dokie, I likes pizza. This author does not own digimon, yay!, now it's time for pizza! 

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Pinmon: (Pinmon watches in dismay as Guilmon starts scarfing down the pizza), Hey, that was mine! 

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Knight of the Staff: _Next time, be back quicker when I give you money to get a pizza..., hey, wait a minute, I paid for that! _

Pinmon: (shrugs), Well, I think it's time the readers got on with the story, and since my partner is busy wrestling for the last slice, I'll use his line, enjoy the chapter, and **BOO HA HA!**

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"It's party time baby, uh-huh." shouted Etemon as he ran off toward the buffet line. I laughed and was surprised when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw a Tapirmon floating behind me. 

"Excuse me gentlemon, but if you would please follow me, then I'll show you to your seats. Since you're the guests of honor, you get your food served to you." it said. 

Pinmon laughed and said "Alright, that means no having to get up for seconds!" 

I rolled my eyes and followed the Tapirmon. It led us to a table that was set on a raised portion of the floor, so we had to step up to our seats. The Tapirmon indicated that we should seat ourselves at the two middle chairs, then bowed, and left us to ourselves.

Pinmon and I sat down, and waited for our waiter/waitress. While we waited, the crowd of digimon from the ceremony started returning to their respective seats, while carrying their plates of food. Let me tell you, some of those digimon were carrying some big plates! A thought occurred to me as I watched the crowd of humans and digimon share a meal. 

"Pinmon?" 

"Huh, what is it Ben?" 

"I was just wondering, ummm, earlier, I saw some large digimon watching the ceremony through the windows. Aren't they invited to this party?" 

Pinmon laughed and said, "Of course they are, they're just dining on the lawn." 

"Oh..., makes sense." I said. "Mind if we join you?" said a familiar voice from beside me. 

I looked up and found Angemon and Andromon standing there. "Uh, uh...., sure, I mean, of course you can." I stammered, surprised that these two would want to sit with me. Andromon sat on Pinmons' right, and Angemon sat to my left. I notice that they didn't have any food either. 

"Excuse me, Angemon?" 

"Yes?" he replied looking directly at me, at least, I think he was, it was hard to tell with his helmet on. 

"Why don't you or Andromon have any food?"

Angemon smiled and said, "Because, anyone who sits at this table is considered to be friends of the one being celebrated, and they get served as well." 

"Oh..., but, aren't you a person in charge or something? Shouldn't you be served anyways?" I said, hoping that I wasn't being rude. 

Angemon nodded and said, "We three, Andromon, Etemon, and I are all head knights. It's just that Beelzemon is the head knight of this region. We aren't automatically catered upon because this party is in honor of you and Pinmon. You two are DigiKnights now, and this is a celebration for you two." 

Pinmon spoke up then, "Oh good, the waiter's here." 

I turned from Angemon to see that Pinmon was right. In front of our table floated the Tapirmon from earlier, at least I thought it was the same. 

"Good evening gentlemon, my name is Tapirmon, and I will be your waiter. Now here are the menus, take your time, and I'll be back to take your orders." Then the Tapirmon floated off to a pair of doors on the other side of the room, I guessed that it was the kitchen. 

I looked at the menu and found that the food was what you would expect to order at a regular restaurant. I didn't know what I wanted, so I asked Pinmon. "Pinmon, what are you gonna get?" 

Pinmon looked up from his menu and smirked, "That's easy, I'm going to get the double cheeseburger, with a side of onion rings, and a soda." 

I looked at him in surprise, for that sounded like something I'd usually get. I looked back at my menu, and decided that I'd get the same. 

Angemon and Andromon seemed to be ready as well, and we waited for our waiter. 

It wasn't before he came back from the kitchen. "Are you ready to order?" he asked, holding a pad and pencil. 

Pinmon and I gave him our orders, which were the same. Angemon ordered a salad with extra broccoli, I shuddered visibly at that statement, and Andromon ordered a tuna sandwich. After the waiter left I looked around the large room at all who were gathered there. The mixture of humans and digimon sat together, eating, drinking, laughing, and having a good time. I smiled, and decided that I was very glad I had chosen to stay. 

O

I looked up from the menu, deciding what I wanted for dessert, and found Ben staring at the gathering before us. He was leaning back in his chair and smiling to himself. I smiled at the sight, for it seemed that he was over that Fridgimon incident and back to normal. Well..., as normal as Ben can be. 

I leaned back, and smiled as well. Not because of the sight before me, but because of what Beelzemon had said, _"I'll be seein you both later tonight, count on it." _I had been wondering what he had meant by that, and only one thing came to mind. 

__

"So, Ben is finally gonna get what's coming to him, hmmm, won't he be surprised!" I thought to myself, and then saw the Tapirmon returning.

O

I was so engrossed with watching the others enjoy themselves, that I nearly fell off my chair when the Tapirmon came back. 

"Here you go," it said as it set our food before us, "and if there is anything else, don't hesitate to ask." The Tapirmon then floated off back toward the kitchen. 

I picked up my burger and looked at it. It seemed like a regular hamburger, I took a bite, and fell in love. This had to be the greatest burger that I had ever tasted. I looked at Pinmon, and it seemed that he felt the same way I did, since half his burger was already gone. I had to keep myself from laughing, for fear of choking, at the way Pinmons' cheeks bulged like a chipmunks.

During our meal, I received a surprise. It seemed that there was to be musical entertainment to this gathering. I watched as a curtain was drawn back from the other wall, to reveal a whole stage. The instruments were already set up, and all that was needed were the players. 

I had a sudden bad feeling as I realized I hadn't seen Etemon in a while. _"Oh God, no, anything but him!" _ I thought as we waited for the band to show. 

I turned to Pinmon and whispered, "Pinmon, uh..., do the bands that play here usually have singers?" 

Pinmon gave me a look like I was crazy, "Yes Ben, most bands do." 

"Do you know who's going to be singing for this one?" I whispered again. 

Pinmon shook his head, "Sorry, but the band is different for every celebration. Why do you ask?" 

I was really nervous now, I remembered what the Etemon from the show had sounded like, and I really didn't want to experience a live performance. "Um..., you haven't noticed where Etemon has gone have you?" 

Pinmon looked puzzled for a second, and then looked as freaked out as I did, "_By the Sovereigns_!" he whispered, "you don't think...?" He trailed off as the band went on stage.

My fear was realized right then as Etemon himself led the band on stage. I heard a quick gasp of surprise and looked to see Angemon shaking his head. 

Andromon on the other hand had only one thing to say, "Standby mode activate." He then closed his eyes and seemed to be sleeping. 

__

"Well, that's convenient for him." I thought to myself. 

Pinmon seemed to be searching for an exit with his eyes, but by then it was to late. 

"Listen up boys and girls, cause ya all got a surprise coming to you, uh-huh." said Etemon, speaking into the microphone while holding his electric guitar. "You all get to be the first to listen to my new song, dedicated to the man, and mon, of the hour, Ben and Pinmon!" 

The crowd started to clap and I waved nervously. 

"I wrote this last night, so you better enjoy it baby, uh-huh!" 

The other band members just stared at Etemon, while the human drummer behind him, looked like he was ready to throw something.

"Here it goes, ready, 1...2, 1, 2, 3, 4..." and then Etemon started to play. 

I had no idea what song he was playing, but it was actually pretty good. Then Etemon started to sing, and that was also surprisingly good. I was shocked, and according to the look on Pinmons', Angemons', and almost everyone's face, they were too. I couldn't really understand what Etemon was singing, but it didn't matter anyways. 

I enjoyed the music, and so did everyone else. Well, except Andromon, but that was because he had put himself on standby. We ate as we listened to the band. As I ate, I watched with interest as a space was cleared in front of the stage. "Pinmon," I said, "what are they doing?" 

Pinmon glanced up, "Clearing the dance floor." 

I got nervous, "Um...I'm not expected to dance or anything, am I?" I said. 

Pinmon grinned, "Well, a lot of the girls around here try to be first to dance with the newly initiated, lucky us huh?" 

I gulped and looked around nervously, so far they were still moving a couple tables. _"Pinmon, I can't dance!"_ I whispered to him. 

"Don't worry Ben," he said, "I'm sure you'll do fine." 

I could see that he didn't understand. I grabbed his shoulder to get his attention, "Pinmon, I seriously can't dance. Every time I have..., well, it's ended in disaster." 

Pinmon smirked, "Oh come on, it can't be that bad." 

I decided tell him just how bad it could be. "Look, the last time I was at a dance, I stepped on the girls' toes..., about 500 times. Then at a dance before that I couldn't find the rhythm at all, and hit the guy behind me." 

Pinmon had tried not to laugh at my first example, but the second one confused him. "So what? If it was an accident the guy shouldn't have cared right?" 

I looked down, "Well, you see, I had moved my arm back, and I kinda, um..., my fist swung and, well..., he was on the floor in pain." 

Pinmon stared at me openmouthed, "Ouch..., well, I can see why you wouldn't want to dance." 

"Yeah, well..., I just don't want to end up a laughingstock again. I'd just wind up embarrassing my dance partner and myself."

We finished our meal in silence, and then the music stopped. 

"Okay fellas," said Etemon, "now's the time to grab a partner and dance!" 

Then the music started up again. Soon the dance floor started filling up with dancers. It didn't seem to matter if you were a digimon, or a human. Everyone on the dance floor seemed to be having a good time. I watched the dancers, and watched out for anyone who'd ask me to dance. So far, nobody had even come close to me, except for an Angewomon, but she was there to ask Angemon. 

After a couple of songs were played, I figured I was safe. I sat there with Pinmon, and watched the others dance. I didn't mind just watching, I liked seeing others have a good time. Then things started going wrong. Pinmon was restless and kept fidgeting in his seat. 

I turned to him, "You know, just because I don't dance, doesn't mean you shouldn't." 

Pinmon looked at me, "You sure, I mean, I don't want you to feel left out, or abandoned, or anything." 

I grinned, "Nah, go on, I'm sure some girl is just waiting for you to ask her." 

Pinmon smiled, "Alright, as long as you'll be fine by yourself." 

Then he jumped up from his chair, and I swear he ran to one of the other tables. I watched as he went up to a human girl, and they joined the other dancers. I sighed as I watched the others dance. Then I started to feel sleepy, I yawned and thought, _"Guess I'm still a little tired." _ I leaned back in my chair and just closed my eyes when it happened. 

"Well, do you want to dance?" 

I opened my eyes and looked around for the speaker. "Excuse me?" I said. 

"_Hmph, _I said do you wanna dance?" 

I looked behind me and almost fell out of my chair. There staring at me in a superior way, was a BlackGatomon. 

"Uhhhh..." was all I that seemed to be able to say. 

The BlackGatomon crossed her arms and stared at me, "Well?" 

I couldn't respond, all I could do was just stare right back at her. I was frozen like a deer in the headlights. 

She sighed and snapped her fingers in my face, "You could at least answer me you know," she said, "you humans, always think you're so much better." 

I finally regained my voice, "Hey!, I don't think that I'm better than others." 

She smirked, "Oh, so that got your attention. Maybe now you could answer my question." 

"Oh," I said, seeing that she was intent on getting an answer, "well, um..., you see, the thing is..." 

She didn't even let me say no, "I'll take that as a yes." she said, and then grabbed my hand and proceeded to pull me along behind her.

I was speechless, not because of her strength, I mean she _was_ a Champion, but because she only came up to my kneecaps, so I was being pulled along while bending over. I tried to get her to stop, but she kept up a speed where if I stopped, I'd fall flat on my face. I didn't have any doubt that she'd just drag me along behind her either. 

"But, but.., I can't dance!" I said, as we reached the dance floor. 

She seemed to hiss, "Oh, stop your whining and dance." She then let go of my hand and turned to face me. I stood up suddenly and froze, for it was as if though I was the center of attention. A group of the other dancers around us had stopped and were watching us. I noticed Pinmon in the crowd and silently mouthed _"Help!" _He grinned mischievously and nodded. I immediately felt sorry I had asked him. The music had stopped and the next song was about to be played.

O

I made my way up to the stage as the song ended. I was going to help Ben, but probably not in the way he wanted. I saw that he was nervous, and decided that I'd try to help him get over it. 

I jumped up on the stage as Etemon was signaling to the band members what song he wanted to play next. I walked up to him and put my hand over the microphone. "Etemon, can you do me a favor?" 

"Are you crazy?," he asked, "we're in the middle of somethin here." 

"Come on," I said, "it's to help out Ben, and get him to enjoy the party." 

Etemon looked hurt and then angry, "What, he doesn't like the music or somethin?, Ya know this party's for you two, uh-huh." 

I sighed and carefully explained to him what was wrong, his laughing afterwards didn't help any. 

"So what do you want the king to do about it?" he said after he had calmed down. 

I smiled and whispered into his ear. Etemons' face broke into a grin, and he nodded enthusiastically. 

"Sure baby, the king will do it, uh-huh." 

I jumped down off the stage, as Etemon talked over things with the band.

O

I watched as Pinmon jumped down off the stage, and wondered what he could be up too. BlackGatomon was waiting for the next song to dance, and staring up at me. I was still frozen where I was, when Etemon started to play. 

I realized then what Pinmon had done, _"Thanks a lot bro..." _I thought sarcastically. 

The band was playing a slow dance and the couples around us were holding each other and dancing slowly. I looked down at BlackGatomon, and saw that she looked angry about something. 

"Well, start leading." she said as she held out her arms. I saw a problem with this arrangement even if she didn't. 

"Uh, how exactly do we do this? I mean, do I squat down, or lift you up?" I hoped she didn't think I was being rude, but I had to know because of the height difference. 

She sighed and said, "_Hmph, _you got a point, don't worry though, I can remedy this problem." 

I watched as she seemed to glow darker, if that even makes sense. Then I had to look away for a second, as the darkness hurt my eyes. When I looked back I could only say one thing, "Wow."

LadyDevimon stood there with hands on hips, "Is this better?" she asked with a smirk. 

I could only nod as I stared at this beauty before me. She was really quite breathtaking, with her pale skin, snow-white hair, and leather clad body. I stepped up to her and bowed. She smirked, and held out her arm. I stood up and took it, pulling her close as I encircled my arms around her waist. She then grabbed me and we proceeded to dance. 

She took over the lead as it became obvious that I didn't know what I was doing when I stepped on her foot. I had to look up to look her in the face, as she was quite a bit taller than me. I blushed as I realized what I had been looking at when I stared straight ahead. I was surprised at myself, I was dancing and nothing had gone horribly wrong yet. I smiled at LadyDevimon and thought to myself, _"This isn't so bad."_ I should have known better.

As we continued to dance I decided to try making some small talk with LadyDevimon. 

"So," I said, "how do you like being a DigiKnight?" It was just a simple question, since Pinmon had told me that all the guests were digiknights. 

LadyDevimon froze in her tracks, "I...I, I'm not a DigiKnight." she said quietly. 

"Oh," I said, thinking she was a guest of someone's, "okay, uh, can I ask you another question then?" 

LadyDevimon looked shocked, "You mean you don't care that I'm not a DigiKnight?" 

I was confused, "No, why should I?" 

LadyDevimon started dancing again, "It's just that, well..., never mind. What were you going to ask?" 

I dismissed her skipping the topic, "Um, I was just wondering, I haven't met you before have I?" 

"What do you mean?" she asked with a smirk. 

"Well you see, when I first got here there was this BlackGatomon, and I offered her a drink. She then ran away and fell into the river. It was kind of funny really." 

LadyDevimon frowned, "It wasn't that funny, that river was cold!" 

"So it was you!" I said with a smile. 

"..." LadyDevimon glanced upwards worriedly, and then smirked at me, "Well, looks like I'll be seeing you later, and thanks for the dance." 

She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. I think my face became the reddest it's ever been after that. She then started to glow again, and when I opened my eyes, there was BlackGatomon. She winked at me and ran off into the crowd. I stood there among the dancers, still blushing from her kiss. 

I returned to my seat in a daze. A couple minutes later Pinmon returned and sat down next to me. 

"So, how was the dance?" 

I turned toward him, "You asked Etemon to play that, didn't you?" 

Pinmon grinned, "Maybe..., it helped you out didn't it?" 

I nodded "Thanks for doing that." 

"No problem Ben, I saw that you were nervous, so I...." He didn't get a chance to finish as a loud cracking sound was heard from above us. 

We looked up only to find the ceiling starting to fall inward.

"Ben, get down!" yelled Pinmon, as he grabbed me and forced me under the table with him.

I guess that the table was sturdier that I thought, for it prevented the plaster and beams from smashing us. I covered my face to keep out the dust. Pinmon seemed to look me over for any injuries.

"Are you okay Ben?" 

I nodded, "I'm fine, but, what about the others?"

We listened for cries of help, and heard nothing. 

Then a voice rang out, "Pinmon, Ben, are you alright?!?" 

It was Angemon. "We're fine!," yelled Pinmon "but could someone get us out of here!?!" 

We heard the sounds of grunting and objects being moved. Suddenly a pile of rubble slid away from the table. I looked up into the eyes of a Ex-Veemon.

"You two okay?" 

I nodded and crawled out of the hole. I stood up and helped Pinmon to his feet. 

"What happened?" I asked Angemon, who stood a few feet away.

"I don't know, suddenly the ceiling caved in. It is strange though, it only fell in where you two were seated."

"Nightmare Shocker!" called out a voice, and Angemon was hit from behind with a burst of dark energy.

"Aaahhhhh!" he cried out as he fell to the ground, twitching in obvious pain.

Everyone looked up to see who had attacked Angemon. There floating before the hole in the ceiling were three digimon that I recognized. "Vilemon" I said, suddenly getting very angry.

Etemon walked out of the crowd and shouted at the Vilemon, "Who do you think you are ruining my performance!?!" 

The Vilemon laughed at him, and I think one flipped him off. Then before anyone could react, two of them flew down, grabbed Angemon, and flew back up to their companion.

Everyone started yelling at them, and some digimon were even preparing to fire their attacks. Then the Vilemon who wasn't holding Angemon spoke out, "Silence fools, if anyone here dares attack, it will be Angemon who gets hurt understand?"

Everyone fell silent and stared at the creatures that had dared kidnap one of the head knights.

The Vilemon laughed, "That's better, now were here for one thing, and one thing only. Where are the newest members to you little club, hmmm?" 

"We're right here you scum!" shouted Pinmon, grabbing my shoulder to indicate me. 

The Vilemon laughed and said, "You two are to fight me, if you don't then your precious little angel here will pay the price." 

I didn't know what to say. I'd never fought anyone in my life, except of course the Fridgimon, but nobody else. 

"Bring it on!" shouted Pinmon.

"Are yo crazy?" I asked him, "first of all, it's three against two, and second of all, I don't even have a weapon." 

Etemon was his helpful self, "Here ya go baby, now get in there and kick some butt, uh-huh." 

I grabbed what he had tossed me, it was Angemons' angel rod. I sighed, I didn't want Angemon to get hurt. I nodded to Pinmon and people started backing away from us. 

The Vilemon laughed and took Angemon from the other two, "Rip them apart." it said and laughed maniacally. The two Vilemon nodded and flew toward us.

I watched Pinmon from the corner of my eye to see what he would do. I should've been paying closer attention to the Vilemon.

"Oooofff" I cried out as the Vilemon slammed into my stomach, and then flew off again. 

"You okay Ben?"

"I'm fine Pinmon" I said as I pushed myself back up onto my feet. I looked for the Vilemon again, to find it diving at my head. I swung the rod around like a baseball bat, and nailed the Vilemon in the face. It crashed into the ground screaming in rage.

I looked over to Pinmon to see that he was just standing there. The Vilemon was circling him, and then dived. "Nightmare Shocker!" it cried as the beam of energy fired from it's mouth. 

Pinmon rolled to the side and the attack hit the floor, causing the air to be filled with dust. As it started to settle I could see the Vilemon standing there, looking for Pinmon.

"Quill Ball!" shouted a voice.

I watched as Pinmon jumped into the air from behind the Vilemon. Then he curled into a ball like an armadillo, except that all his quills stood straight out, and looked very sharp. He slammed into the Vilemon, his quills going through its back, and out its chest. It screamed once before it burst into data.

Pinmon unrolled and stood up, "Ben, behind you!"

I turned as quick as I could, and found the other Vilemon flying straight at me. Before I could even think of what to do, a feeling overcame me. It was almost like before with the Fridgimon, but this time I wasn't in a blind rage. Just before the Vilemon slammed into me, I thrust the angel rod into its mouth. It couldn't stop in time and was forced along the length of the staff, its eyes wide in pain as the rod tore through its insides. It still managed to knock me down and fell on top of me. I looked it in the eyes and saw that it was already dead, then it too burst into data, leaving me and a slimy angel rod.

The remaining Vilemon gulped and looked around at all the angry DigiKnights. "Well, looks like I gotta be goin now, see ya later." Then it threw down Angemon, and raced into the sky, with flying digimon giving chase.

Etemon leapt up and caught Angemon in the air. Pinmon ran over to me to see if I was alright, meanwhile all around us the other DigiKnights were cheering.

"You okay Ben?" 

I smiled at Pinmon, "Yeah, but there's a couple things I need to tell you Pinmon." 

"What?"

"One, I don't think Angemon is going to like his rod with that slime all over it."

Pinmon laughed, "You're right, but what's the second thing?"

I closed my eyes and grabbed his arm, "I think I need to lay down now."

O

I caught Ben as he fell forward into my arms. I checked his pulse, and sighed in relief. He was okay, he just passed out. I frowned as I wondered why he was so tired. I mean sure he fought a Champion, but that Vilemon practically deleted itself! I wondered, and told myself to ignore it. I'd ask Ben about it later.

I looked around and saw that the others were starting to clear out as well. The party was definitely over. I sighed because that meant I wouldn't be getting dessert. I picked Ben up and started back toward our room. On the way there, I couldn't help but think that I was forgetting something.

O

Down in the dining hall, it was now empty, and the room had been sealed off for repairs. The pile of rubble still covered most of the tables and chairs. Suddenly one of the piles moved and broke apart. Andromon stood up and looked around, "What happened?" he asked aloud to the empty room.

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Knight of the Staff: So, what'd you think? Liked it? Hated it? Review and tell me your thoughts!

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Pinmon: Hey where'd Guilmon go?

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Knight of the Staff: He kept whining about 'Guilmon Bread', so I told him there was bread in the kitchen.

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Pinmon: But didn't hide you digimon tapes in the pantry with the bread?

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Knight of the Staff: (eyes widen, and sweat appears on forehead) "**Oh Crap**!"(runs off toward kitchen) **"Guilmon wait, don't eat everything in the pantry!"**

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Pinmon: Well... that was interesting. Until next time, remember to **R&R**, and as always **BOO HA HA!**

Knight of the Staff: (from kitchen) "Hey, that's my line!"

Pinmon: (sweatdrops)


	7. Strength of the Heart

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Disclaimer:

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Knight of the Staff: Hey there you foolish mortals! I am back once more to bring you another chapter of the 10th DigiKnight.

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Pinmon: Was I your muse for this chapter?

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Knight of the Staff: Talk about selfish, you're in every chapter and you also want to be the muse?

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Pinmon: (pouts) Fine then, who's your muse this time?

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Knight of the Staff: Let's open the closet and find out! (opens closet door, and out pops new muse) BlackWarGreymon?

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BlackWarGreymon: What?

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Knight of the Staff: Um..., aren't you supposed to be dead?

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BlackWarGreymon: What are you talking about, I'm fine.

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Pinmon: No, he's right, you're supposed to be dead. Didn't, um..., what's his name? Myotismon! Yeah, didn't Myotismon kill you or something?

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BlackWarGreymon: Hey, shut up! I don't like remembering that!

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Knight of the Staff: So what happened? Did you get reborn or something?

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BlackWarGreymon: (sweatdrops) Uhhhh...yeah, sure that's it, _hehehe_.

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Pinmon: You couldn't have been, you're made up of nothing but dark spires.

BlackWarGreymon: I told you to shut up!

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Pinmon: _Pfffttt!_ Make me!

BlackWarGreymon: That's it! Time to make a Pinmon Pizza! (grabs pizza dough and chases Pinmon)

Knight of the Staff: Okay, well... that was weird. Anyways, I don't own digimon, now please R&R, and don't forget, Boo Ha Ha! By the way, this chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine, fellow author Digital Letdown! This one's for you! Now, where'd Pinmon get to?

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Pinmon: (running as fast as he can) **HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!**

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I awoke to find myself once again in the familiar surroundings of my home away from home. I sat up on the bed and looked for Pinmon. He was staring out the window. I yawned, stood up, and shivered, for it was cold in the room. I realized I didn't have my jacket on and looked around for it. I found it on the table and slipped it on.

"Hey Pinmon, is the party over?"

Pinmon turned toward me, "It finished a couple hours ago. The room has been sealed up for repairs." 

"Oh, okay, ummm...., are you alright? I mean, you're not injured or anything are you?"

Pinmon smiled, "I should be asking you that. How are you feeling? Are you hurt?" 

"No, I feel fine. In fact I feel great!" I said, and walked over to stand beside him.

"Good, I was worried when you passed out after the fighting."

"I did?"

"You don't remember?"

I shook my head. Everything after the Vilemon being deleted was blurry. All I remembered was that I had felt extremely tired, as if I had run a marathon. 

"Well, it doesn't matter I suppose. By the way, Angemon is fine, and says don't worry about not cleaning his weapon."

I remembered with a shudder at why it had to be cleaned. It was strange though, it didn't bother me as much as it should have. At least not as much as Fridgimon did. I decided to try and forget about it, and stood with Pinmon, staring out into the night sky.

O

Ben stood beside me as I gazed at the stars. I was glad that he was awake. I would have had to have awakened him in a few minutes anyway. Things were going wrong, and I didn't know why.

__

"Why are we being attacked? How did those Vilemon know what room we were in anyways? There aren't any windows there, and only the knights in this region knew about the initiation. Wait a minute..., that BlackGatomon that digivolved, I don't think I've ever seen her before. Didn't Ben say he met a BlackGatomon after we first met? But..., she wasn't fighting, in fact, she seemed to enjoy the party. She even danced with poor Ben."

I smirked at that memory. Ben sure had been nervous about dancing. I glanced at my friend, he was staring into the night sky just as I was. 

__

"We're so alike, yet he doesn't seem to realize it. I wonder.....has he started to feel the affects of the bond?"

I turned back to looking at the stars. I didn't know if he felt the bond yet, but I hoped he would soon. Or else the circle may not be completed.

O

A knocking at the door caused me to turn around. I looked at Pinmon. He had turned also, and seemed almost...hesitant. 

"Who could that be?"

Pinmon sighed, "I guess its time."

"Time for what?"

"Remember when Beelzemon said he'd see us later tonight? Well, it's time for the final part of your, err...,_ our _initiation."

"This is the last part right? I mean I'm kind of getting tired of their being _one more part_ to the initiation."

Pinmon smiled, "Don't worry, I promise this is the last part of it."

"Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's get this over with." 

Pinmon nodded and went to open the door. On the other side was a Gabumon. 

"Hey there, nice to see you two again. By the way congratulations on passing the test."

It was obviously the same Gabumon we had met before.

"Well what do you want Gabumon?" I didn't mean to be rude, but I was anxious to get the last part of the initiation over with.

"I'm here to take you two to Lord Beelzemon. Now, if you would please follow me?" He then turned and proceeded down the hallway.

We followed him through many hallways, and down many stairs. The halls, for the most part, were empty. Once in a while though, we'd pass a digimon or elderly human carrying clothes and other things. I assumed that they must be some sort of cleaning/janitorial service. 

Eventually, Gabumon led us to a door, and left us with a nod. We stood there looking at the door. I was nervous, while Pinmon seemed...uneasy. 

"What's wrong Pinmon?"

He looked at me as if startled. "What? Oh, um....nothing."

"Don't we have to go in?"

"Yeah, it's just that, well, I need to ask you a question."

"Okay, you should know that you can ask me anything."

Pinmon rubbed the back of his head and leaned against the wall. "Ben, I need to know, have you felt anything..._strange_ lately?"

"Like what exactly?"

"I mean something like, oh let's see, ummm.....have you had the feeling that you know where I am, without actually seeing me?"

"I guess..." I was confused as to what he was implying but tried to answer anyways, "I mean, I kind of _feel _you when you're close by. If that makes any sense. I mean, when we were up in the room, I just kind of knew you were nearby."

Pinmon looked a little relieved, "That's good, that means that the bond is strengthening between us. Which means that we should have no problems with this part of the initiation."

"Pinmon, what exactly is with this _bond_? I've heard you say it before, but what do you mean by it?"  


Pinmon shook his head, "Sorry Ben, I can't really explain it. All I can tell you is that it is a link between us. Over time it will become stronger, thereby allowing us to become better partners. It's already increased in strength even if you're not aware of it. By the way, that Vilemon plowing into you kinda hurt!"

"What do you mean? Are you saying you felt it hit me?"

Pinmon nodded, "Yep, not the full shock of it of course, but enough to know that you were in pain."

I didn't know what to say. I mean, Pinmon just told me that he felt my pain. I hadn't felt any of his during the fight. How could I fight now if I knew Pinmon would be hurting every time I was? I wasn't trying to fool myself, I knew it was just dumb luck that had saved me from the Vilemon. I knew that in all probability, I'd lose a fight. But I had given a oath, sworn to protect others, even if it meant sacrificing myself. I couldn't ignore that, but...I didn't want to cause Pinmon pain either. 

O

Ben looked strange. He was staring at the floor, and hadn't even responded when I said his name.

"Ben, are you okay?"

He still wouldn't answer me. I was going to grab his arm to make him look at me, then the door opened. In the doorway stood Beelzemon.

"Bout time you twos got here."

Ben finally responded when he heard Beelzemon. He looked up at him, but something was wrong. His eyes seemed darker and unfocused. He looked at Beelzemon and then looked at me. His gaze seemed to lighten a little when he saw me. But then he shuddered and returned to staring at the floor.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, he just started acting this way when we got here."

"We'll have to snap him out of it then." Beelzemon then grabbed Ben, pinning his arms to his sides. He lifted him until they were face to face. "Come on Ben, snap outta it. There's no reason for ya to act like this." Ben looked Beelzemon in the eye, then continued to gaze at the floor. Beelzemon actually shuddered a little. Then he carefully placed Ben back down.

"What's wrong with him Beelzemon?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out. Grab him and follow me." Beelzemon then turned and strode back into the room.

I grabbed Bens' hand and pulled lightly. He didn't budge. I didn't want to end up pulling him along the floor, so I stepped beside him and scooped him up in my arms. "Don't worry Ben, it's going to be okay. I...I'll stay with you until you snap out of this. I'm not going to leave you." I then hurried after Beelzemon, hoping that Ben would be alright. 

O

Darkness was all that I saw. Once in a while a face would appear. Sometimes it'd be people I'd met before, and other times it be family. They didn't really matter to me though, I just ignored them. There was one face though that wouldn't leave, that was there continually..., Pinmon. He was always there in front of me, no matter where I turned.

Why was he there? Why wouldn't he leave me alone? Didn't he see that I would hurt him? Didn't he understand that I didn't want to cause him pain? I shouted at him to leave me be, to go away like the others. He wouldn't leave though, he'd just smile at me and talk, although I couldn't hear any words come out of his mouth. 

O

I stood by Ben, holding his hand. Angemon was standing over him, concentrating on what was wrong. I had laid Ben on the table in the middle of the room. He was staring at the ceiling, and hadn't blinked once. I was worried, but I kept on talking to him, even if he didn't respond. I kept telling him that I'd stay by him, I wouldn't leave him alone. I told him that he'd get through this, that he had to get through it. He couldn't leave me alone.

Beelzemon came over and stood next to me. It seemed wrong somehow that his trademark smirk was gone, and was replaced by a frown of worry.

"How is he Angemon?" 

"I do not know Beelzemon. I try to reach him, but it's like he's ignoring me. It's almost seems like he doesn't want us to help him. I can't help unless he wants me to, and he apparently doesn't."

"Why wouldn't he want us to help him?"

"I don't know, all I know is that he is in a dark place right now. He is trapped in his own mind, but doesn't seem to care." 

Beelzemon didn't respond to that, and just stood there watching Ben.

I was now upset. Ben didn't want to come back? It was his choice to stay in a comatose-like state? I was mad. I had been worried, and sick with fear that something horrible had befallen him. He had no right to make me feel that way. I was going to get him to talk to me right now, whether he liked it or not.

"Angemon, I think I know a way we can snap him out of this." 

Angemon opened his eyes and looked at me curiously. "Really? How would we do that then?"

"Well, do you think you could connect me and him? You know, somehow let me contact him the way you've been trying to do?"

Angemon frowned, "It's possible, but is your bond with him strong enough? You two need to be connected deeply already for it to work."

I closed my eyes, for this is what I had feared earlier. I knew that our bond was new, yet I already felt deeply connected to Ben. He had said that he had felt the affects of the bond as well. I had to believe that it was strong enough, for him. Even though I was angry with him right now, I still cared for him. Whatever reason he had for refusing help, I'd try to understand. He was my brother, the only family I had. I had to help him however I could.

I opened my eyes and looked at Angemon. "Yes...., now please, what do I need to do?" 

Angemon sighed, "Alright, come here and close your eyes. Now when I say to, start concentrating on Ben, imagine yourself with him as hard as you can."

I stood next to Angemon and he placed a hand on Ben's forehead. I then closed my eyes and felt him do the same to me. 

"Now Pinmon."

O

The faces had stopped coming out of the darkness. Except for Pinmon's. I was tired of him being there. Why wouldn't he leave?

**__**

"Why won't you leave me alone?!?" I screamed into the darkness, and sank to my knees sobbing. 

"Because, I love you Ben."

I looked up at the sound of the other voice. "Pinmon? Is that you?"

A hand grasped my shoulder, not tightly, but supportively. "Yes, it's me, now why would you want me to leave you alone?"

I stood up and turned to face him. It really was him. "You...you shouldn't be here Pinmon. You should stay away from me."

Pinmon looked confused, "Why should I stay away?"

I grabbed his hand and pulled it off. "It'd be better if you leave Pinmon."

Pinmon stopped looking confused, and instead became angry. "_Damn it Ben! _You tell me right now what's going on! We've been worried sick about you, and Angemon said that you did this to yourself! You tell me why you would do such a thing, and why you don't want anyone to help you!"

Now I became angry, what right did he have to tell me what to do? "Why should I tell you?!? It's my life isn't it? Nobody has cared before about what I do, why should you?"

Pinmon stopped being angry, and instead looked hurt, deeply hurt, as if my words had struck his heart and soul. Now I was frightened, for I had done it again. I had caused Pinmon pain, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. 

"Ben, is that what you think? That I don't care about you?"

I turned away ashamed, ashamed that I had hurt him again. He reached out though and grabbed my chin, gently forcing me to look at him. 

"Well Ben?"

I couldn't take it anymore, I fell to my knees. "No Pinmon, I didn't mean it. It's just that I...I don't think you _should_ care about me. I'll just cause you pain, and I care too much for you to see you hurt in any way."

Pinmon knelt down beside me and looked me in the eye. "Ben, what do you mean by that?"

"It's my fault you were hurt Pinmon, during the fight with the Vilemon you felt my pain. Even now I hurt you with my words. I don't want to hurt you Pinmon, I never want to see you in pain. Yet, that's all I've done since I came here, caused you pain. First, when I caused you to worry when I got lost in the forest. Then, because of our bond as partners, you feel my pain. Now, because of what I've said, I had to see the hurt it caused you. I don't want you to hurt, Pinmon. You'd be better off without me."

I looked away so Pinmon wouldn't see me cry, it'd just make him feel sorry for me, and I didn't want that either.

The next thing I knew was that Pinmon had wrapped his arms around me and was holding me tight. I didn't know how to react. I mean, I had caused him pain and he was hugging me?

"Ben, is that what this is all about? You thinking that you cause me pain? Well, it's true Ben, but you must know that you always hurt the one you love. Sure you cause me pain sometimes, but so what? You bring me great happiness as well! You're my brother Ben, all the family I've got. Family is supposed to hurt each other sometimes, it just brings them closer together."

"I...I....I'm your family? We're family? You weren't just calling me brother as a nickname or honor? You really consider me to be your b...brother?"

"Of course I do. Don't you consider me yours? Think about how bad you felt when you found you were causing me pain. Only family would feel that bad, and that's what we are Ben, family."

"Family..." I sighed and wrapped my arms around Pinmon, holding him close, feeling his warmth, "yes we're family."

"Ben?"

"Yes?"

"Are you ready to leave this place now?"

I leaned back to look at him, and saw that he was smiling. I smiled back and hugged him tight once more before saying, "Yeah, let's get out of here."

O

I opened my eyes to find Angemon still had his hand on my head. "Angemon? You can stop now."

Angemon opened his eyes and looked at me, "Did it work?"

A low moan from Ben was all the answer he needed. "_Ooooohhhhhhhh....._where am I?"

Beelzemon jumped up from the chair he'd been sitting in, and rushed over to Ben. "Hey there boyo, how ya feelin? You okay? You had me worried for a while there, that's not a very nice thing to do to yer head knight ya know." 

Ben smiled and slowly sat up. "I'm fine Beelzemon, I....just had to deal with some things."

He caught my eye, and I nodded, understanding that he didn't want to talk about it in front of the others.

Angemon stepped in front of Ben, "Are you sure you're okay? If anything is wrong, or you or Pinmon aren't feeling well, then we could always reschedule the last of the initiation."

Ben jumped up at that, "No, no, I'm fine see, no need to cancel, let's just get this over with."

Beelzemon smiled, while Angemon looked less than satisfied. "Well, if you're sure that you are fine. I guess I'll take my leave. Beelzemon, don't keep them too long okay? I want them to get as much sleep as possible as soon as you are done. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some sleep myself to catch." Then Angemon left the room, stifling a yawn.

Beelzemon looked at Ben, then at me. "Well you twos, it seems were gonna have our little chat after all."

O

Beelzemon turned toward me, "Before we talk though, we are gonna have to get you your weapon."

"My weapon?...Oh, you mean one of those swords that the rest of the human DigiKnights were wearing?"

Beelzemon chuckled, "Nope, you're gettin a weapon that is 'specially for you. Now, both of you follow me." Beelzemon then turned and went toward a door on the other side of the room. 

I looked at Pinmon, and he seemed pleased about something. But when he saw me looking at him, he just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't know what was happening.

We followed Beelzemon through the door, and into an even larger room. I stared in awe, for the walls of this room weren't covered in tapestries like others, no, instead they were burdened with weapons. All kinds of weapons. They seemed to be made from different substances too, some wood, others metal, I think I even saw one made out of stone. There were swords, maces, spears, daggers, slings, war hammers, shields, axes, and many others. We walked past them all though until we came to the other side of the room. There before us was what appeared to be a stone altar. 

Beelzemon turned toward me suddenly, "Well Ben, are you ready?"

I gulped, "R...ready for what?"  


Beelzemon laughed and turned back towards the altar. He then grabbed the top of it and ripped it off! At least that's what he appeared to do. After the initial shock I noticed that the altar was actually hollow, and the top of it was removable. Beelzemon looked towards me, "Well what are you waiting for?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's like a box of cracker jax, boyo. 'Cept in this case you've gotta go in the box to get yer prize."

I looked at Pinmon, "Does he mean I have to get in that thing?"

Pinmon nodded, "It's the only way. Every partnered human digiknight has to go through this to receive their weapon." 

"Why can't I just take one off the walls?"

Beelzemon laughed, and set the slab of stone upon the ground. "Ben, ya need to receive your weapon this way, because otherwise, it wouldn't be yours. Ya understand?"

I shook my head, now I was confused more than ever. 

Pinmon tried to explain it to me next. "Look Ben, basically the altar works like this. It _appraises_ you, it searches within your mind for what makes you, well...., you. Then it creates your weapon based on what it finds. But you have to accept it, it won't just give it to you."

I was still confused as to what would happen, but if my brother said it'd be okay, then I'd believe him. "Alright then, what are we waiting for?" I strode over to the altar, hitched my leg over the side, and got in. I laid down and shuddered, for the stone was cold to the touch. Beelzemon winked at me before replacing the slab back upon the altar.

I was in total darkness, again. I started to hyperventilate a little, but then told myself that this wasn't my mind, I was just in some stupid stone box. I laid there for about a minute, and nothing happened. 

"Well, this is pointless. How am I supposed to get this to work anyways?"

Then as if on cue, the stone grew warmer. I flinched at that, but then relaxed. The warmth of the stone beneath me seemed to rise into my back. In fact, I swear I could feel it seeping into me, and throughout my body. It was comfortable, in fact, it was very relaxing. I felt good, as if I had nothing to worry about. It also seemed familiar somehow. That's when it hit me, I knew where I'd felt like this before. Pinmon, when he held me it seemed as if nothing would ever hurt me. I smiled at that and relaxed even more. 

The warmth had spread all over me now. I was starting to wonder if it'd be over soon. Then the warmth seemed to focus and increase in two spots. The first spot was in the middle of my chest. It felt as if a warm hand was placed there. The second spot was my forehead, and that seemed to be even warmer than the spot on my chest. Then I felt the weirdest thing I've ever felt. The spot on my head, it seemed to _go deeper_, if that makes any sense. I could literally feel it flow into my skull, until my whole head was filled with an intense warmth. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. The warmth was gone, and I was once again lying on cold stone.

I started seeing colors, and thought that something was wrong with my eyes. I wasn't seeing things though, the walls around me were glowing a soft blue. I watched as their glow intensified and a stream of data flowed from each one, merging in the space above my body. I watched as the data condensed into a long, cylindered shape. The thing finally took form and the data stopped coming from the walls. I reached out to what hovered above me, a staff. I hesitated though and started to draw back. The staff had started to change. First it was an ordinary wooden staff, about 2 1/2 inches wide, and 5 ft. long. Then it seemed to flash, and was instead a pure black staff, covered in a black fire. Then it switched again; this time it was an ivory color, and covered in a blue-white flame. It switched again; back and forth it went, until it was a blur. I shook my head to keep from getting dizzy. "Enough." I reached out and grabbed the staff, and it immediately became ordinary wood once more.

It was very smooth in my hands; I couldn't see it anymore since it had stopped glowing after I grabbed it. I used the end of it to knock on the stone above me. It was lifted away 5 seconds later. Showing Beelzemon and Pinmon smiling at me, as I squinted at them to get used to the sudden light.

O

I reached a hand down to Ben, and helped him out of the altar. He stood there, getting used to the light. I looked at what weapon he had received, and saw that it was a staff. 

"Good, he possesses the staff, it seems right for him." I thought as I waited for Ben to regain composure. 

I was proud of Ben. He had gotten over his own fears, and was upholding his oath as a DigiKnight. I was happy for my brother, soon he'd get to test out his new weapon, and then he'd see what it was to bear the arms of a partnered DigiKnight.

O

After I had gotten used to the light again, I could clearly see my weapon. I held it before me, and was a little surprised to feel that it was warm to the touch. But it didn't seem to hurt me any, so I ignored it. Beelzemon quickly congratulated me on securing my weapon. I didn't really pay attention to him though. I was looking at Pinmon and saw that he was smiling. I smiled back and went to him. 

Beelzemon then said something that caught my attention, "Well, now that's over; I think its time ya got to meet the others."

I turned to him, "Others?"

"The other partnered DigiKnights boyo; didn't we say you were the 10th? That means there's 9 others awaitin to meet ya. So come on, and don't lag behind." Beelzemon started off toward the door we had just come through. 

I looked at Pinmon, "Let's go Ben" and I nodded. We then took off after Beelzemon, while I wondered what the other 9 were going to be like.

Beelzemon entered the doorway and turned to wait for us. When we got to him, he turned and walked into the room. We followed him in, and found the others seated around the table in the middle of the room. They all stood when Beelzemon entered and went strangely quiet when they saw me. 

There were sixteen of them around that table, eight humans, and eight digimon. I stood there until Beelzemon motioned me over. He stood with me before the table of DigiKnights, and then introduced us, "Well, here he is, the last of our little group. I'd like ya all to say hi to Ben and Pinmon." 

I looked at them all, and they looked right back. It was strange though; some of them seemed oddly familiar. So did some of the digimon. One of them finally cleared his throat and stood, "Hello Ben, my name is Takato and this is my partner Guilmon, I bear the Staff of Miracles." 

I was immediately dumbstruck, "I'm sorry, did you say your name was.... Takato?" 

He smiled, "Yep, that's me alright. Recognize me do ya? Well, you watched the digimon television show right?"

I nodded weakly, and Pinmon just stared at me, not being able to tell what was wrong.

"Well, that show was based off of us. You may even recognize a few faces here from the show, including Beelzemon."

I turned to Beelzemon who seemed to blush. "Yeah, they did a pretty good job of imitatin me too."

I nodded, now it started making sense. "I thought that your motorcycle looked familiar."

Beelzemon smiled, "You recognized Behemoth huh? Glad to hear that, though I kinda wish that they'd shown more of him in the show, but what ya gonna do right? Anyways, I'm gonna leave now and give ya some time to get to know the rest. See ya later." Beelzemon then walked out the door that Pinmon had first brought me in, and shut it behind him.

I looked back at the rest of the DigiKnights. Takato still stood there smiling at me. "Okay," I said, "so the anime was based off of the DigiKnights?" 

Takato nodded, "Yep, of course not everything in the show was true. Such as MaloMyotismon, or the D-Reaper."

"Okay, but what about all the digimons forms? Have they actually reached them yet?"

The group of DigiKnights looked sad for a moment, "No," said Takato, "the farthest that any of the digimon have gone is to ultimate, and that was only achieved by Agumon." 

I looked across the table and saw an Agumon wave at me. "Let me guess, that would make you Tai?"

The teenager next to the Agumon nodded, "Yeah, Tai Kamiya, bearer of the Axe of Courage."

  
Next to him was a girl that also looked familiar, "Hi, the name's Sora, and this is my partner Biyomon. I am the bearer of the Bow of Hope."

"Not of Love?" I asked confusedly.

Sora laughed, "Oh no, those crests were chosen at random for the show. This is what I really have."

Around the table the group introduced themselves. They'd give their name, then their partner's, then what weapon they had. Since it'd take to long to introduce each one at a time, I'll just do them all at once.

"Ken, Wormmon, Mace of Darkness."

"Yolie, Hawkmon, Daggers of Reliability."

"Ryo, Monodramon, Gauntlets of Loyalty."

"Joe, Gomamon, Hammer of Honor."

"Sean, Gazimon, Shield of Knowledge."

I nodded to each one in turn, and counted off in my head. _"Okay, that makes 8 of them, where's the 9th?"_ I looked around and finally found him in the corner, sitting on a couch next to his partner. 

He was an ordinary looking guy, and even dressed ordinarily. He wore a t-shirt, blue jeans, and combat boots. On the couch next to him sat a Gargomon. The Gargomon seemed different than others. It wasn't wearing its machine gun attachments, its ammo belt was missing, and it was wearing a light blue shirt. Also, there was the fact that instead of green fur coloring, it was blue. 

The guy looked up at me when he noticed that everyone had stopped introducing themselves. "Hi, the name's Greg, and this is Gargomon." 

The Gargomon looked at me and Pinmon before nodding, "Hello." 

I looked back at Greg, "Oh..., yeah, I 'm the bearer of the Sword of Light. There we've introduced ourselves, now I think it's time you return the favor." 

The others around the table waited expectantly. "Well, um..., my name is Ben, and this is Pinmon. I only got here a little while ago, but I can honestly tell you that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"What about your weapon?" called Greg from the couch. 

I held my staff before me, so the others could see it. "I don't know what it's called."

The others apparently did though as they seemed to draw back a little from me. Except for Greg, he and Gargomon actually got up and came toward me. "That is the Staff of Power. It is a very powerful weapon." said Greg when he stood before me. "Be very careful how you use it, and remember one thing, that power corrupts. I want to talk to you later Ben, there are some things we need to discuss."

I nodded and gazed at the weapon I held in my hand. _"The Staff of...Power? Man, how do I get myself into these things?"_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

****

Knight of the Staff: Whew..., finally this chapter is done. This has gotta be my longest one yet.

****

BlackWarGreymon: I'm leavin now, oh, and in 20 minutes you should turn off the oven.

****

Knight of the Staff: What? Why should I?

****

BlackWarGreymon: Well, unless you want your Pinmon Pizza to be burnt that is. Bye-bye. (opens closet and walks on in)

****

Knight of the Staff: Crap! Pinmon, I'm coming buddy! 

****

Pinmon: (from off in kitchen) Help! I'm stuck in this stupid oven! 

****

Knight of the Staff: I'm coming, I'm coming! You think I'd actually enjoy a Pinmon Pizza? It'd be the worst tasting thing in the world, plus I'd never get that burnt Pinmon smell out of my kitchen! Before I rescue my partner I'll bid you mortals goodbye for now. Oh, and as always Boo Ha Ha!


End file.
